19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

WESTERN PROTOCOL
Sirs:
Dorothea Walker is a woman who is respected here only for her knowledge of protocol. Her lack of sophistication in other areas has appalled Renoites for months, and the incredible naiveté" of her comments about Nevada in Mary Ham-man's article (White Tie at Squaw Valley, SI, Feb. 22) has turned polite snickers to loud laughter.

Example: her vision of the magenta dinner jacket and girls practically naked at 11 a.m. in Reno is just that.

Also, although she expresses great concern over the crude manners, upbringing and general gauche western behavior of Renoites, it is these people—Reno society—who have been given the full burden of officially welcoming and entertaining foreign visitors. True, Mrs. Walker is used as a protocol checkpoint (which side of the car does a maharaja enter?) in about the same way the IBM RAMAC 305 at Squaw Valley is used to get a bioperse on an athlete. But the brunt of the business has been left to people who she indicates are all descendants of Tom Mix or Tarzan.

Most revealing of all is her shock over western cowboy (not Indian) costumes at Governor Sawyer's party. Dress western clothes are common here and no more gauche or insulting to foreigners than their native costumes are to us.

Reno society is a pretty impressive lot to anyone who really knows anything about society. They have given a great deal of time to entertaining foreign dignitaries in their homes during these Olympics and have done it as well as anyone could. However, they have not done it on the basis of the phony snobbery which seems to have characterized the administrative setup of these Olympics.
GUY SHIPLER JR.
Reno

THE POET: SOMETHING LIKE POETRY
Sirs:
Your piece on my friend Marianne Moore (The Poet, the Bums and the Legendary Red Men, SI, Feb. 15) is delightful.

Many a magazine has given as long essays on her "metrics"—but Robert Cantwell has captured the real person. Nothing sums her up better than your statement, "There is a profound unaware-ness of the impression that she makes on other people.... one of the most delightful personalities in the history of American literature."

It would amuse you to know, I think, that, talking to her on the telephone, I spoke of this so true tribute. And she seemed scarcely to have noticed it—being more taken up with the Dodgers and your exciting account of Carlisle. And anybody else would have cut it out, framed it in gilt and hung it over the bed! Well, she knows about it now—and said, in her modest way, that she was "most grateful."

As I am too, for the pleasure your article gave me.
HENRIETTA FORT HOLLAND
Brooklyn

Sirs:
Of all the articles ever written about my sister Marianne Moore I like your article the best.