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Marsha Gordon Image



Dear Marsha,



War is suffering. Like Ursula Parrott, I’d like to experience a world without it. In 1939, Parrott wrote an article in which she proclaimed,

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A few months later, she was asked, along with a group of other writers, to name her favorite state. Five of her colleagues' answers were literal, as in “Connecticut” or “Wyoming.” Ursula took the occasion to respond with wit and commitment: her answer was “Pacificism.” 



Parrott’s son eventually took a leave of absence from Harvard to join the Marines at the start of WWII (don’t worry--he later graduated!), fighting in a war that Parrott supported out of necessity. While he was stationed in Miami for basic training, Ursula’s visits to the Sunshine State resulted in the wildest episode of her life, involving a military stockade break and a headline-grabbing trial involving the FBI and Department of Defense.



I’ll be heading to Miami, where this scandal went down, for a special talk and introduction to Douglas Sirk’s There’s Always Tomorrow on Monday February 26th at 6pm at the Cosford Cinema in Coral Gables. The event is free with registration. Legendary bookseller Books and Books will be on hand selling copies of Becoming the Ex-Wife and I’ll bring my best autographing pen!

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I’m also headed to Asheville, NC to give a talk and introduce The Divorcee at the East Asheville Regional Library as part of their annual Zelda Fest on Saturday March 9th starting at 1pm. That event is also free and Malaprops Books will be on site selling book copies. Speaking of Zelda Fitzgerald, when I was at the University of South Carolina last week giving a pair of talks, I got to see some of her paintings first hand (and actually hold her flower painting pictured below) in their special collections library, which was a treat.  On the heels of my visit, USC Libraries wrote an article about how I discovered Ursula Parrott in their archives!

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Book club update: I did a lovely in-person book club in Cary, NC last week (thank you ladies!) and am excited to do a virtual one for some Bostonians this week. I rally enjoy talking to readers about Ursula’s life and writings. Please don’t hesitate to ask me if you’d like to line up an event for your club or institution.

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In Peace,

Marsha Gordon



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