Dear J.D. Salinger,
I usually fill this space with a note to The God Particle’s readers, but it’s time I wrote an overdue letter to you. I intended to write months ago, but my timing’s almost never any good.
I’m a reader of your stories—have been for years. "The Laughing Man" and the "Zooey" part of Franny and Zooey remain among my favorites. "For Esmé – With Love and Squalor," left me feeling punched in the lungs.
Your stories were a curse on the early years of my own fiction writing. I saw no point to writing a story that wasn’t like yours, because yours were so close to my heart. Since then, I’ve found my own paths into the heart, and I’ve stopped trying to write your stories. No one else could do that, anyway. Which is a problem, you see.
A whole world of people would love to read another of your stories, a new one. More than a few of us feel life remains somehow incomplete without just a glimpse at the rest of your work. You have every right to lock those stories in the vault I imagine hidden in your house. I even think I understand your choice to some extent, though I don’t pretend to know your mind.
Out of love, respect and curiosity, I invite you to open the vault and let a story slip through. The God Particle’s small, volunteer staff would cherish an opportunity to publish that story for you. We would accept it with reverence and treat its publication with no more fuss than we give to the rest of the issue. Your work would speak for itself, and we would do nothing to promote it.
One of the greatest honors I can imagine would be to know that you’ve considered this offer, Mr. Salinger. Please do.
You can reach me by E-mail: editor at thegodparticle.com.
And thanks a thousand times over for the stories you’ve already shared.
Sincerely,
Eric Bosse
Editor
The God Particle