Chickens, Gin, and a Maine Friendship: The Correspondence of E.B. White and Edmund Ware Smith

by E.B. White, Edmund Ware Smith, Martha White (Introduction)

During the 1950s and '60s, writers E.B. White and Edmund Ware Smith carried on a long correspondence by letter, despite living only a few miles apart on the coast of Maine. Often the letters were written from one or the other while they were traveling, but missing their homes and friends. The letters represent a witty and charming correspondence between two literary giants, their stories of Maine, the beauty of our region, and the trials and tribulations of living here. Introduced by White's granddaughter, Martha White, the letters show their first formal communications, their chummy middle years, right up to the death of Edmund Ware Smith. Throughout, there is a strong sense of place and community.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir, Memoir

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Elwyn Brooks White was a leading American essayist, author, humorist, poet and literary stylist and author of such beloved children's classics as Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. He graduated from Cornell University in 1921 and, five or six years later, joined the staff of The New Yorker magazine. He authored over seventeen books of prose and poetry and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1973.

White always said that he found writing difficult and bad for one's disposition.

Mr. White has won countless awards, including the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, which commended him for making “a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.”

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really all that interested in chickens, but letters of E. B. White with anyone are always worth reading. I had never heard of the author Edmund Smith til now, but four essays at the end of the book, two by White and two by Smith, proved that he was a pretty funny guy.

[Donna Kremer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprisingly bored with some of the letters. Out of respect for EB White, and some hearty laughter over liquor references, I generously give 3 Stars. This book needs a second chance. In the hands of a talented writer, and with the aid of a research assistant, back story (interspersed amongst the letters) could provide a much more interesting book. Tell us about their homes, their families, include photographs,etc. I did love the humor like, “..looking forward to Labor Day, when the Jaguars, Cadillacs, and various station wagons go south with their loads of vacationers and antiques and leave us the hell alone.” I loved references to things that no longer exist, like store credit and postage paid envelopes.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd read E.B. White's shopping list with pleasure, that's how much I admire his writing. Here, we get a peek into his mad letter-writing skills, this being a ten-year correspondence with a fellow writer, friend and neighbor in Maine. One of those books to savor slowly, reading a few letters at a time. Bonus: the several essays included as make weight, especially his thoughts on the hen. Heavenly.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years ago I read a book about the friendship between Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt during WWII, and the author referred to a saying about how in relationships there is always one who kisses and one who turns their cheek up to be kissed. Something like that, basically meaning that one person cares more and puts in more effort, while the other mostly accepts the other person's affection.

In the Churchill/Roosevelt relationship Churchill was doing the kissing, and in the friendship between authors E.B. White and Edmund Ware Smith, it seemed pretty clear to me that Smith was. At a certain point in my reading of this collection that started bothering me and I felt almost sorry for Smith.

Maybe I was reading too much into it, I don't know.

Anyway, the letters between them were mildly interesting, or maybe more than mildly if you're really into chicken keeping and the building of an ideal chicken coop. There's also a lot of talk about the weather in Maine.

My favorite part of the book wasn't even the letters themselves, but was the four essays - two by each author - at the end of the book. Those were witty and fun and made me want to read more prose by each of them.

[Starbubbles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non-fiction letters are difficult to rate. I believe they were transcribed well and added additional context sparingly as needed. The addition of short essays at the end was a nice touch. It gave the reader a feeling of both their personal and professional personalities. I believe this book captured their friendship well through their letters, hence the rating.

It was a lot of their writing career, shop talk, chickens, health, birds, life in Maine, gin, and cars. As a book/story, I found the middle section slumping into a lull. I slogged through all of the henhouse details. But that was part of thier friendship. It was like listening to my boyfriend talk to his friends, but in the late '50s-'60s (which I enjoyed). I feel like I can recommend this to anyway that needs an easier read and can easily be put down and picked back up as desired.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hardcover |

A friend of mine lent me this book (we’re Mainers). It is an adorable read. It made me laugh out loud 34 times. Yes I counted. I thought it would be fun to have that information for the owner of the book.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, charming, and touching letters between two friends. A snapshot of the daily lives of two incredible authors.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now know more about mid-century hen house building than I ever thought I’d need to, but the back and forth between these two writers actually made it all gently entertaining.

[Kaitlyn Oldroyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting nonfiction read! Not my typical book, but I enjoyed it!

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun banter between EB White and Edmund Ware Smith. I look forward to re reading sections in the future.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a neat look at one of my favorite children’s authors, EB White. I think I need to read some of his New Yorker essays now!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SOO GOOD! Already a fan of EB White, and also, I live not far from Brooklin, Maine. These letters were not only amusing, but instructive about chickens (we are new chicken farmers), and enlightening of the times. They start in 1956 and end in 1967, with Mr. Smith's death. At only 67! He happens to mention that he was turning 64 in 1964, and I thought, he was born in 1900! 1900 seems a century away from 1964. From Ford Falcons, from television, from orbiting the earth, from President Kennedy, from toasters......And yet. Imagine growing up in the noughts, as a nought, being a teen in the teens, a 20-something in the twenties, and so on. I, myself, married in 2000, and find it wonderfully easy to remember which anniversary we're on. But imagine if it was your birthday, growing up with the century. I imagine that all these people, who died in their 60s, died of inveterate smoking. Mr Smith's cause of death WAS lung cancer. My own grandfather died in 1960, at age 65, of heart disease brought on by smoking.
At any rate, I read this a few letters at a time, and thoroughly enjoyed the correspondence between "Smitty" and "Whitey". AND at the end are several essays, one on chickens, one on Mr Smith's original cabin in Maine and his letters with a man who prophesied that his sojourn there was temporary, AND another from Mr White about "getting rid of stuff' to sell an apartment in NYC---it's a classic and I'm so glad I have it, because it's all true. Good writers are gems. We can only enjoy them!
PS, the blurb up above says they kept up a correspondence, despite being "only a few miles apart on the Maine coast". First of all, Brooklin and Damariscotta are nearly 100 miles apart, on small two- lane roads, which would take, according to Google, 2 hours and 11 minutes on our roads today and at our speeds. Furthermore, they each were often elsewhere---EB White was sometimes in NYC and in the winter he was in Sarasota, FL. The Smiths were often in Dearborn, MI, because of his job. They corresponded from each of these places.

[Jennifer Fitzpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not since reading Dear Committee Members have I had as many laugh out loud moments as I experienced in this wonderful collection of letters between two old Maine friends. Entertaining, witty and sometimes poignant, the penned easy banter, playfulness and name-dropping was peppered with descriptions and people of the Maine I know so well....places in history, like Marion Village, northern Maine lakes and camps, and The Fryeburg Fair to name a few. I followed their back and forth letters, eagerly awaiting news of the ‘girls’, the construction of the Hen House, updates on book publishing and household projects, and how they were fairing with illnesses. The warmth of their friendship was obvious. I wish the letters had kept coming!

I loved the short essays added at the book’s end, particularly the preface to the book on hen ownership. I probably should have read that before getting our small flock.

I am grateful that the library found and released these donated letters to E B White’s granddaughter, Martha, to collect them in this tiny tome. As a long time White fan, I can only say “thank you” as I add Chickens, Gin and a Maine
Friendship to my library of personal favorites.

[Neil St Cyr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could really associate with this book. My sister bought it for me as a Christmas gift for that reason. I live in and like Maine, gin is one of my favorite liquors, and I’ve probably mentioned here or there that chickens would be cool to have.

The correspondence starts off kind of slow and business-like but really grows into a warm friendship that continues throughout their lives. I liked the little joking jibes they trade and the concern they each have for each other when things go awry. There’s a little bit of business present from start to finish as both were accomplished writers working contemporaneously. And there’s a lot of enthusiasm when it comes in particular to the chickens. EB White evidently was an expert on the subject and included plenty of helpful advice as Smith started up his enterprise.

Smitty wrote to Whitey a recipe for a Lime Rickey that I recreated and tasted pretty delightful though strong.

Reading the letters really makes you feel a little like you’re a part of their friendship as you experience that same warmth they shared. I enjoyed it!

[Jennifer Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was blindsided by how much I enjoyed this book. I picked it up completely on a whim from the library (after having read a children’s biography on E.B. White). This wasn’t a novel or story, it was real life from a totally different era. Men and times like these don’t exist anymore. These two writers — whose letters of correspondence are the book itself — would sit in their den, drink gin, and write. They were at once buttoned up and completely exposed in these personal letters. Their wit was dry, their humanity completely on display. I hardly wanted to read on after one mentioned JFK while he was still very much alive, and then months later when they exchanged views on the news of his demise. I nearly cried when the trail of letters ended suddenly after the one described his time in the hospital dealing with his severe cancer. Thanks Smitty and Whitey for letting me into a little part of your world.

[Susan Emmet · Rating 5 out of 5]

So grateful that this batch of letters between EB White and EW Smith were found in a vault in Damariscotta, Maine and made their way to the Skidompha Library and to Mary White, EB's granddaughter.
Covering about a decade in the lives of both men, their wives and adventures in coastal and northern Maine, as well as elsewhere around the country, the letters grow on readers. They're just throwbacks, bell weathers, cautions and celebrations of sorts of weather, illlness, wellness, chicken raising, writing, musings, decisions, recognitions of mortality and desire to live life fully even as strength recedes.
Plus there are four unadulterated essays, two by each author, that are crowning jewels.
These letters also resurrect in me the need to write more often to people I care about. And not by text or email!

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reader is warned that there really is a lot about chickens in this book. The two writers both raised chickens. Smith bowed to White's expertise on the subject. In the letters the two exchanged over a period of ten years are accounts of chicken farming, a recipe for the Tom Collins, meditations on aging and mortality, and more comic one-liners than you can shake a stick at. These were men who understood nature, knew the mannerisms of birds, and who found a sense of home in the Maine countryside. They called each other Smitty and Whitey, and you can feel the love coming through these pages. Will CHICKENS, GIN, etc. make more people want to write letters? I hope so. I will start writing to old friends right away (on paper, not via cyber). It's as Smitty and Whitey would have wanted it.

[Sarah Ambrogi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it! So many good things about it - the writing, of course, is fantastic, funny, self-deprecating, acerbic at times. The relationship between the two men is interesting and develops over time. Reading the book gives you a window into a time(late 50's to mid 60's) that was in some ways so different from our own (having to get from Detroit to Maine by train, for example!). It's also a window into life on the Maine coast in that era. But most of all, it's a window into the way people used to communicate, by letter - a lost art, but this book will give you a new appreciation! So worth reading, and not just because I have a strong connection to one of the locations!

[Elizabeth F Mathewson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know when I have spent a more delightful weekend. The conversation between E B White and Edmund Ware Smith moves through the pages in easy prose punctuated by erudition, intelligent observation, and the sheer joy of living. The friendship between these two literary greats floats from the page to fill the reader's soul with happiness.

I considered calling this book the perfect pandemic read. It is the perfect read for any situation.

[Maineguide · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like White at all, but particularly if you are connected to Maine and/or chicken raising, this book is really a gem. Short, easy to read letters, but both authors have a razor-keen wit. It’s also sweet to watch their relationship grow as they correspond back and forth. I’m a huge EB White fan and have read some of Smith’s writing (arguably one of the best writers on New England hunting and fishing of all times), so this was especially heartwarming to read their correspondence.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to the creation of this book, I discovered it on a dusty bookshelf whilst vacationing in Maine. It truly is an unearthed treasure of a friendship between two talented writers. It’s also a time capsule of life in mid century Maine. I was fully engrossed in their almost daily conversation on life and was a bit saddened that it eventually had to end.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not much of a reader of literary correspondence, but this was a little more down home and relaxed--despite the fact that White is perhaps the best known modern English grammarian. The book gets a little repetitive about poultry, but it is never dull. Don't give up before you read the three short essays at the end of the book.

[Katie Bruell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun. I laughed out loud many, many times. There were plenty of sad parts. I want to read more EB White and maybe some Smith, too, though I get the feeling his real self came out more in the letters than in his published writing.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic hidden gem that's been brought to light. E.B. White I knew, but it was fascinating to read the correspondence between these to giants in the world of letters.

Reading their letters was touching, insightful and a delight.

[Kim Mroch · Rating 4 out of 5]

E.B. White is such a master with words that even these long-lost letters between he and another Maine author are interesting to read. If I liked chickens or gin, it probably would have been five stars.

📚Jesup

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book of the correspondence between E.B. White and Edmund Ware Smith. I especially enjoyed the opportunity to read some of their short writings that I never would have otherwise encountered.

[Pat LaMarche · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't been keeping up listing the books I've been reading. But I wanted to weigh in that this is WONDERFUL.

I'd love to have you read it. Just so you can smile!

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, a gift from my Mom. Classic EB White- poetic, cranky, laugh-outLoud funny. The exchanges are delightful and you even learn to build a chicken coop! Run, do not walk, to get a copy.

[kevin moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

The purest pleasure reading this. Such clarity of thought and word, and always the wry humor.

It really captures a sense of time and place and circumstances.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming ode to the lost art of letter writing.