Letters column

Reader letters

A weekly column of what readers wrote back about.

Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Re:

The Letters of Mavis Gallant to Her Editor

From A reader, by mail

I read this piece twice, once for the story and once for the small mechanical detail at the centre of it.

Re:

From A reader, by email

A small correction: the date in the third paragraph is off by one year. The rest is true to the subject.

Re:

From A subject of the piece

Thank you for the patience with the story. We read it aloud at the table the morning it appeared.

Re:

From A retired teacher

I have spent my own career in adjacent rooms. The detail about the long quiet stretch in the afternoon is exactly right.

Re:

From A graduate student

I am writing about adjacent material in a different country and was grateful to read this. The bibliography is small but useful.

Re:

From A reader, anonymous by request

I share the writer's view that the small ceremonies of working life are the part most worth recording.

Send your letter to the editor. Mention the piece by title in the subject line.