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     20th Century Children's Authors - Florence Atwater - Mr. Popper's Penguins

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     20thCCA_Atwater_01

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     7861 South Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois
January 11, 1948

Miss Elizabeth R. Montgomery
Seattle, Washington
My dear Miss Montgomery:
I am sorry to have been so long in
answering you. I did get your questionnaire,
but found it a little formidable. Indeed
I did not know how to answer a good deal of it. However, I can probably answer the
questions in your letter - at least about
Mr. Popper's Penguin's.
My husband has been hopelessly
paralyzed for the last fourteen years - but the
facts about his career before then you could
probably dig out of some old Who's Who.
When he was quite young he taught Greek
at the University of Chicago (I was one of his students
there, as a matter of fact) but he gave up
the academic life for journalism. For a
number of years he wrote a humorous
column for the old Chicago Evening Post
over the signature Riq. He used also to
write articles for magazines.
As for the genesis of the penguin
book, it grew out of our seeing the
Byrd movies of Antarctica expedition.
We were so enchanted with the movies
of the penguins that like Mr. Popper. We
sat through the movie twice. My husband
began the book shortly after - probably
with our own two daughters in mind
for the audience.
He abandoned the manuscript, however,
and I dug it out of his desk a couple of
           

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     years after his stroke, and decided to
finish it. (I had previously done a
few short pieces for magazines myself).
The original manuscript was much
more of a fantasy than the final form:
it was all a sort of dream. I rewrote
the first few chapters and supplied a
practical domestic background. The
humorous chapters, such as the one
where the repairman is called to bore
holes in the icebox for the penguins, I
left untouched. The last few chapters
I had to supply entirely.
Does this answer your questions?
It is kind of you to be interested, and
I am sorry to have been to slow in
answering.
Sincerely yours,
Florence Atwater
(Mrs. Richard Atwater)