Dear Editor
DEAR EDITOR TO MILOVAN DJILAS [The writer of the following letter, a close friend of Milovan Djilas and a former editor of the official Yugoslav newspaper Borba, defected to the United States...
...What with the New York Times Book Review praising Wouk as a "superb craftsman," Harper's concurring and even the New Yorker finding Youngblood Hawke "consistently entertaining," it seems that Hyman is one of the few critics left who employs consistently high standards—and The New Leader one of the few places where one can read genuine criticism...
...But one day these roads must bathe in the lights of a million torches like yours...
...I envy your courage...
...You may seem to be alone now, Djido, carrying as you do a lonely light on our deserted Yugoslav political mudroads...
...But, still bitter with myself, I realize that you have no need of admiration from afar...
...That is where my envy comes from, Djido...
...I envy you for standing with your hands in your pockets, defying still another judicial travesty of your rights and mine in still another Yugoslav court of oppression...
...Houston, Tex...
...The court, this time, defends a regime that you and I—and an entire generation of determined idealists—brought into being, only to find ourselves betrayed by promises of freedom not fulfilled...
...Ann Arbor, Mich...
...For centuries on end, without pause Balkan history has centered around the simple quest for liberty...
...We particularly enjoyed Marvin Kitman's article...
...One subscribes by sending money, of course...
...Please give me the address of that mysterious two-room, ground-floor suite on New York's West 69th Street...
...It is now the highest distinction, the noblest decoration, the greatest honor, to stand accused of fomenting freedom in a society which, ironically, came into being through the promise of that very freedom...
...Why couldn't Kitman have told us how one subscribes to Monocle...
...For no idea or ideal is more precious to keep and fight for than the right of man to dignity of thought and freedom to speak for it...
...But living in Texas, whose most comic figure is General Edwin Walker, I found Marvin Kitman's article on Monocle ("Politics Through a 'Monocle'") a very frustrating experience...
...We have all had our share of dreams, of endless hours debating how to bring about a free future, modeling it in our minds like so many sculptors in clay...
...Mrs...
...In a way it is only an extension of that same urgent feeling which seems to be the birthright of all Balkans, a feeling of owning, belonging to and forming history as an inalienable right and duty...
...DEAR EDITOR TO MILOVAN DJILAS [The writer of the following letter, a close friend of Milovan Djilas and a former editor of the official Yugoslav newspaper Borba, defected to the United States several years ago.—Ed.] I envy you, Milovan Djilas...
...But then he has written gems of criticism in every one of your recent issues...
...But how much, and where should it be sent...
...Edward J. Soph Just a line to let you know how much we appreciate your excellent coverage of foreign events and the fine quality of your feature articles...
...A quarter of a century later, in the midst of our personal and national disillusionments, you are still blessed with that dream...
...How can we subscribe to Monocle...
...Djido, not only your courage to stand trial but also to rise in judgment over your judges...
...And I feel ashamed sometimes for not sharing that worn court bench with you...
...Louis E. Lomax's "Everybody's Freedom Ride" is the most intelligent comment I have read on the reverse freedom rides...
...Our forests have been burned and eroded, felled for profits or for "progress," but in the perspective of history it seems that most of the wood has been cut to make human stakes, hangman's stands or trial benches for those, like you, accused of stubbornly believing that man is born with the freedom to express and defend his rights...
...In these moments of guilt, I tell myself that you can hear our applause, even on your lonely trips to prison...
...New York City David Benjamin This year's Spring Book Issue is excellent...
...I can find my way with your help...
...New York City Jasha M. Levi SPRING BOOKS Stanley Edgar Hyman's piece on Herman Wouk ("Some Questions about Herman Wouk," NL, May 14) was a masterful job...
...In general the quality of your book reviews are also excellent...
...I have seldom enjoyed book reviews as much as I do his...
...Binghamton, ?. ?. ?. Vasilew Hyman's article on Herman Wouk struck me as being a kind of oasis in the current critical desert...
...Long may he preside over your book section...
...Paul H. Ray [In response t? the above queries and to the many other letters and calls about Monocle we have received, the editors of the new satire magazine inform us that they will make a handy order form available in the June 11 issue of The New Leader.—Ed...
...You may consider it childish, Djido, but I know you will understand my envy...
Vol. 45 • May 1962 • No. 11
