Thursday Feb 28th.

Got up early to give Karl a commission for Palma: buttons. Antonia at the café pretended to know nothing about the Posada though she has been discussing it at length with Isabel.
Wrote three drafts of a poem "Advice to Storytellers".
Went to sea: brought back cuttlefish for ink-stains, and a bunch of rosemary in flower for Laura's table. The wind has hardly stopped blowing for a week (more damage to trees last night) yet the Cala was quite calm.
Folded the sheets of Second Leaf. Best way is to lay the pages lengthwise,away from one[RG] with title underneath away from one, then fold over towards one, hold edges true with left hand, find press[RG]centre with right, keep paper steady with elbows use both forefingers for creasing down. The second process I did holding the sheet in the air.
Put up towel rail & paper roll in cellar retrete1, painted the pipe against water dripping.
After all it isn't the motor, but not sufficient depth of water 2 metres depth are needed.
Worst wind of all: blew all night from southwest.
German royalty accounts 3108 marks: but how to get it from Germany? 5000 sales in five weeks. 2

Editorial Notes

1lavatory WG
2Must have been royalty payments on the translation of the Claudius books. Were there restrictions on taking out money from Germany in 1935? eds.

Hands Referenced

    • Annotation: ink correction
    • Character: regular
    • Ink: black

Places Mentioned

  • Posada, La

    Deyá, Majorca, Sp
    House on the Puig next to Deyá church. Originally part of the Es Molí property. It had been rented by the church for Sunday school. RG and LR bought it in February, 1935, to use as a guest house for their visitors. WG, eds.

  • Palma

    Palma, Majorca, Sp
    Capital and largest centre of Majorca.

  • Cala

    Deyá, Majorca, Sp
    Deyá's fishing cove. This is the cove near Canellun that RG refers to as "the Cala" in his diary. Eds/ WG

People Mentioned

  • Karl/Carl

    Goldschmidt, Karl
    Karl Goldschmidt, later Kenneth Gay: Graphic artist, friend and secretary of Robert Graves and Laura Riding since 1934. R. G. spells both as Carl and Karl.

  • Laura

    Riding, Laura
    (1901-91) American poet. Laura Riding (née Reichenthal; then Laura Gottschalk).

  • Antonia

    Antonia
    Proprietor of the Café Ca'n Pep Moso, opposite the Fabrica. The medico's mistress. WG

  • Isabella

    Isabel
    Live-in maid from Murcia. Her mother (Carmen) then came over with Josefa who also came to work later. WG

Bibliography

    • Title: Second Leaf [poem]
    • Author: Riding, Laura
    • PubPlace: Deyá
    • Publisher: Seizin
    • Date: 1935
    • Title: Advice to Storytellers [a.k.a. Devil's Advice to Storytellers]
    • Title: Collected Poems [1938]
    • Author: Graves, Robert
    • PubPlace: London
    • Publisher: Cassell
    • Idno: A48
    • Date: 1938