COMMENT ⊗   VALID 00059 PAGES
C REC  PAGE   DESCRIPTION
C00001 00001
C00005 00002	\input newlet[1,dek]
C00016 00003
C00031 00004	% Daniel *
C00032 00005	% Nehemiah
C00034 00006	% Exodus
C00036 00007	\def\today{June 4, 1987}
C00043 00008	% Deuteronomy *
C00045 00009	% nudge notes
C00048 00010	% Job *
C00049 00011	% Psalms *
C00050 00012	% Isaiah
C00051 00013	% Amos *
C00052 00014	% Micah *
C00053 00015	% Luke *
C00055 00016	% letter to Walt Schroeder
C00068 00017	% second progress report
C00085 00018	% first progress report
C00102 00019	% Malachi, continued
C00103 00020	% Genesis, continued
C00105 00021	% Habakkuk, continued
C00108 00022	% 2 Samuel, continued
C00110 00023	% 2 Samuel, continued
C00112 00024	% 2 Kings, continued
C00113 00025	% Habakkuk, continued
C00115 00026	% 2 Samuel, continued
C00117 00027	% Nehemiah, continued
C00119 00028	% Amos, continued
C00120 00029	% Ezekiel
C00137 00030	% Joshua, continued
C00138 00031	% first progress report
C00155 00032
C00156 00033	% Daniel, continued
C00159 00034	% Habakkuk, continued
C00161 00035	% Ruth, continued
C00163 00036
C00165 00037	% 2 Kings, continued
C00167 00038	% 2 Corinthians, continued
C00169 00039	% 1 Timothy, continued
C00172 00040	% 1 Thessalonians, continued
C00175 00041	% Philippians, continued
C00177 00042	\end
C00181 00043	% Genesis, continued
C00184 00044	% Ezra, continued
C00187 00045	\end
C00188 00046	% temporary letter for revised text
C00192 00047	% Isaiah
C00193 00048	% temporary letter for revised text
C00197 00049	% Job
C00198 00050	% Leviticus, continued
C00200 00051	% 1 Kings, continued
C00203 00052	% Jonah, continued
C00212 00053	% 1 Kings, continued
C00214 00054	% Ephesians, continued
C00216 00055	% 1 Peter, continued
C00218 00056	% Ezra, continued
C00220 00057	\end
C00221 00058	% temporary letter for revised text
C00225 00059	% 1 Chronicles
C00232 ENDMK
C⊗;
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\newif\ifbloc

\def\invite #1:#2\par#3\par{\message{#1:#2}\global\advance\count1 by 1
Hermann Zapf and I would like to invite you to contribute to a somewhat
unusual book that I am currently preparing for publication.
The book is tentatively entitled
\dd\vcenter{\hbox{3\thinspace:\thinspace16, an approach to Bible study}
\hbox{with sixty examples of fine calligraphy from around the world}}\dd
and we hope that it will be a truly beautiful as well as thought-provoking
volume.

I have enclosed a draft copy of the book's Foreword, which explains that
the basic idea is to choose more-or-less random verses from the Bible
and to study them in depth. Each of these verses will be illustrated
by a page of calligraphy. Hermann has helped me choose the calligraphers who
are being invited to contribute illustrations.

I have also enclosed a draft of a sample chapter.
This sample shows the general layout that will be used for each of the
chapters (one chapter for each book of the Bible).
One of the four pages in each chapter will be devoted to calligraphy.
Since each Bible verse is different, each illustration will be done in
a style that is uniquely suited to its specific verse. The book will be
enhanced by having a wide variety of styles on the calligraphic pages.

The verse that I would like you to contribute to this collection is
described at the end of this letter. I hope that you will find it
an interesting challenge to discover the best visual interpretation
of these words. But if you do not wish to participate, please let me know
as soon as possible, so that I can assign the verse to someone else.

I don't have an enormous budget to support this project or to compensate you
fully for your time, but I do plan to pay \$200.00 for the rights to reproduce
each illustration used in the book.
You will retain all other rights to your work, and I will
return the original art to you. (Perhaps there will also be a
show in which all of the originals are exhibited; if so, I will take care
of the material until the exhibition is over.) Naturally, you will also
receive a complimentary copy of the book when it is finished.

The enclosed sample chapter illustrates the exact final trim size of the book,
although there will be a little more space in the middle to account
for binding. As you can see, the calligraphed Bible verses
should more-or-less fit in an area that is 5\frac1/2 inches (14\thinspace cm)
square, final size, with a caption below.
Your original drawings can be larger, if you want them to
be photographically reduced before printing.

The calligraphy isn't necessarily expected to fill a square. Some examples
will be vertical, some horizontal, some circular or triangular, etc.;
but they shouldn't extend much beyond the 5\frac1/2\thinspace-inch
square region that has been allocated for artwork. You needn't worry
that your work might be too small; white space usually looks good!
A problem will occur only if an illustration is too large.

Your artwork need not be entirely in black and white;
but I have decided to limit the use of color, so that the book will not be
too expensive. The sample chapter illustrates what will be possible: Besides
black, there is also a nice red ink (used to set `The Gospel of John'),
and a blue-green (used for the Bible verse inside). These colors can
either be solid or printed as halftones, separately or in combination.
For example, the red letters on the sample calligraphy page have been
darkened by superimposing a black halftone. The book
{\it International Calligraphy Today\/} provides further examples of what
I have in mind: Some pages of that book are beautiful just in black and
white; others have been rendered in the best way with two colors
of line art; still others are perfectly suited to black-and-white halftones;
some have halftones in two colors.
I expect that my book will include examples of all these types,
depending on what is most appropriate for each verse.
Color should be used only when it really helps!

Besides black, red, and blue-green, you also have the option of adding the
light cream color that has been used as a background to the lettering on
the enclosed sample.  This will make it appear as if your verse had been
written on a piece of parchment.

Of course I cannot promise in advance to include all of the artwork that
is submitted. Some illustrations may not fit well with the overall designs
made by the other participants; for example, one piece might be too
similar to others that have already been accepted.  If for some reason I
decide not to use what you submit, I will return it to you with a check
for \$200.00 plus your mailing expenses; but I must reserve the right to
make the final decision about what will be in the book.

\ifbloc I have no experience in trying to send money to your country,
but I hope it will not be difficult. Hermann says he thinks there will
be no problem if I send American dollars to your artists' organization,
so that they can take care of the financial details.\global\blocfalse\fi

Please let me know if you would like to participate. I have enclosed
a self-addressed postcard for your convenience in replying.

\nobreak\bigskip \leftskip=\longindentation Sincerely,
    \nobreak\bigskip\bigskip\bigskip % space for signature
Donald E. Knuth\hfil\break
Professor
\bigskip
\leftskip=0pt
\halign{##\hfil\ &##\hfil\cr
Enclosures:&(1) Draft of the Foreword to 3\thinspace:\thinspace16\cr
&(2) Sample chapter, illustrated by Hermann Zapf\cr
&(3) Reply postcard\cr}

P.S.: If I haven't heard from you within six weeks, I shall have to
assume that your answer is `no'; I'll want to reassign this particular verse
as soon as possible, because I haven't sent it to anybody else!

\vfill\eject
\null\bigskip\hrule
\bigskip\bigskip
\line{\largebf #1\thinspace:\thinspace#2\hfil\largerm(special
translation for my book)}
\bigskip
{\baselineskip=14pt\bible#3\par}
\bigskip
Please use your own judgment about how to interpret these words visually,
and how to arrange them on the page;
but I would like this specific wording and punctuation to be retained.
You may include the title of the verse, if it helps to balance your
composition, but it is not necessary to do this because the title will appear
in the caption. Please do not incorporate your own name as part of the artwork.

}
% Daniel *
\bloctrue
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~James Randell Hauyon M.
Rua Jornalista Irinea Marinho 520, Apto.~401
Icarai-Niteroi / Estado de Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL

\body

Dear Mr.~Hauyon,

\invite Daniel 3:16

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego faced the king and said,$
``O Nebuchadnezzar, we needn't offer you any words in reply.''

\endletter\makelabel
% Nehemiah
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
%Se\~nor Chaly Hauyon
%Casilla 1759
%Santiago, CHILE
Mrs.~Florentina Fernandez
Laprida 1314
Buenos Aires 1425, ARGENTINA

\body

Dear Mrs.~Fernandez,

\invite Nehemiah 3:16

Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, leader of half the Beth-zur district,$
restored the next section of the wall,$
from a point facing the tombs of David,$
to the artificial pool and to the House of Heroes.

[It may be possible to give this verse a feel of arch\ae ology. The site being
described can still be visited; it's on the south part of the ``city
of David'', south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. I'm not sure this
information will be of any use to you, but I thought I should mention
it just in case it gives you a bright idea!\thinspace]

\endletter\makelabel
% Exodus
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Evert van Dijk
Ratelwacht 39
NL-6641 EP Beuningen Gld, NETHERLANDS

\body

Dear Mr.~van Dijk,

\invite Exodus 3:16

Go and call the leaders of Israel together.$
Tell them that Jehovah, the God of their ancestors---$
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob---$
has appeared to you and said,$
``I have paid close attention to you here in Egypt,$
\phantom{``}and I have seen how you are being treated.''

[The word `Jehovah' should be especially fancy, and emphasized somehow;
for example, it would be appropriate to use small caps for the lowercase
letters `ehovah'.]

\endletter\makelabel
\def\today{June 4, 1987}
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Prof.~Hermann Zapf
Seitersweg 35
D-6100 Darmstadt, WEST GERMANY

\body

Dear Hermann,

Thanks very much for your letters. I've been traveling and teaching several
one-time-only classes, so I haven't had time to reply earlier.

Congratulations on finishing the Chicago book! I can understand why a major
project like that would take many years; you must be really happy to
see the successful completion.

Things continue to go well with the 3\thinspace:\thinspace16 project.
I just received the finished work from Donald Jackson, Tim Girvin, and
Luigi Maletto; thanks for writing to Jackson and Maletto. Jackson says he
wrote you with suggestions for colors, but he didn't tell me what they were,
so I'd like to know what you recommend.

Two weeks ago I was in New York and I spoke to Alice a second time on the phone;
she promised again to do `Luke', but she said that something special like this
was easy to put off since she waits to be `inspired'. It's not `just a job'
like her other work, but now that she has finished making diplomas she says
she will really be able to get to the verse for me. I really hope she means it,
since I went to the Morgan Library and saw many beautiful things of hers.

John Prestianni has promised to do Deuteronomy, so that should work well.

I had three unassigned verses, and to maximize the number of countries
represented I wrote to van Dijk (Netherlands), Fernandez (Argentina),
and Hauyon (Brazil). Is James Hauyon related to Chaly Hauyon (Chile)? The latter
never replied to my letter of last summer, perhaps because something was
lost in the mail. I decided not to try Sharon
Binder again, since she was one of the few people who
specifically declined to participate last year.

I was, of course, very sad to learn of Alfred Linz's death. He had written
to me last July that his wife Inge does his English correspondence; he said
she ``translated to me the foreword thoroughly and both of us are very much
enthusiastic about this new approach.'' I will certainly be sure to send
her a copy of the completed book.

I'm surprised at your courage when you ask for more details about
needlepoint lettering! I have no authoritative details about this, but I
think the colors are pretty much unlimited; yarn stores have vast
selections. The difficult thing is the size of the grid. Jill and I have
been sewing some designs at 10 to the inch, but this is quite large and I
think a design at a scale of one stitch per square millimeter would be
feasible. Still, that may be too coarse for graceful letters.
Probably some shop in Darmstadt will have the backing material
on which stiches are sewn, and you can look at it so that you know exactly
what is required. (The technique is really very simple, once a
good design has been made!)

\font\logo=logo10
Did I tell you that I'll be using Euler in a big math book I'm finishing this
summer? I plan to do a bunch of experiments during July, in order to get
the spacing in formulas just right. I'll try to find a Telefax machine
in case there are questions; I heard a rumor that you might be working
with Peter Karow to make some refinements, and I'd like to have them
in the {\logo METAFONT} version too. Incidentally, when I looked at Euler
again the other day it seemed to me that the script `L' looks rather
oblique by comparison with the other letters that are upright. But perhaps
this is part of the traditional style of this alphabet? I certainly don't
have enough experience to be a good judge. The test, mathematically, will
be to see just the script `L' and the script `R' and to be sure that they
belong to the same font.

Please give my best to Gudrun. Jill and I are looking forward to our trip to
Germany during the first part of September.

\closing
Best regards,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
% Deuteronomy *
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
%Ms.~Margaret Shepherd
%267 Clarendon Street
%Boston, MA 02116
%
%\body
%
%Dear Ms.~Shepherd,
Mr.~John Prestianni
2005 Channing Way \#2
Berkeley, CA 94704

\body

Dear Mr.~Prestianni,

\invite Deuteronomy 3:16

To the tribes of Reuben and Gad, I assigned the territory that runs$
from the Jabbok River in Gilead, as far as the Ammonite frontier,$
down to the Arnon River, extending to the middle of that riverbed.

[Generally I don't like to ``force a calligrapher's hand,'' but
in this case it would be best if the
words were arranged somehow in the form of a map
that helps to identify the places mentioned. I worked out the translation
so that this would be possible! See the attached sketch.]

\endletter\makelabel
% nudge notes
\def\invite #1:#2\par#3\par{\message{#1:#2}\global\advance\count1 by 1
May Day! May Day! The time is approaching when I'll really need your
art work for my book!

Almost all the chapters are completed, and the illustrations received so
far are magnificent. It seems fair to say that nearly all of the world's
finest calligraphers have contributed; the outstanding quality of art received has
made it imperative that I begin to plan for exhibitions of this work
in several places.

Naturally I am looking forward to having a ``complete set,'' now that
things have progressed so well. I'm willing to bet that the contribution
you have promised will be the ``clincher'' that makes this book really work.

Therefore I wish you a pleasant month of May, but I hope you won't make it
necessary for me to phone you in desperation a month from now!

I enclose a copy of the desired words, in case my old letter has slipped away.

\nobreak\bigskip \leftskip=\longindentation Nudgingly,
    \nobreak\bigskip\bigskip\bigskip % space for signature
Donald E. Knuth\hfil\break
Professor

\leftskip=0pt
\vfill\eject
\null\bigskip\hrule
\bigskip\bigskip
\line{\largebf #1\thinspace:\thinspace#2\hfil\largerm(special
translation for my book)}
\bigskip
{\baselineskip=14pt\bible#3\par}
\bigskip
As I said before,
please use your own judgment about how to interpret these words visually,
and how to arrange them on the page;
but I would like this specific wording and punctuation to be retained.
You may include the title of the verse, if it helps to balance your
composition, but it is not necessary to do this because the title will appear
in the caption. Please do not incorporate your own name as part of the artwork.

}
% Job *
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Luigi Cesare Maletto
Via Cumiano 46
I-10141 Torino, ITALY

\body

Dear Mr.~Maletto,

\invite Job 3:16

Why wasn't I stillborn, hidden away?$
\quad a child who never saw the light of day?

\endletter\makelabel
% Psalms *
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Ms.~Kris Holmes
15 Vandewater Street
San Francisco, CA 94133

\body

Dear Kris,

\invite Psalm 4:8

I'll lay me down in peace,$
\quad and go to sleep;$
for you alone, O God,$
\quad my safety keep.

[The keyword here is `peace', and Chuck tells me you have been experimenting
with it in many different languages. Sounds very interesting. I emphasize `Shalom'
in my commentary, so if it works out well to have Shalom in both `English'
and Hebrew that will be appropriate. But again, I don't want to force your
hand.]

\endletter\makelabel
% Isaiah
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Donald Jackson
The Hendre Hall
The Hendre, Monmouth
Gwent, ENGLAND NP5 4HQ

\body

Dear Mr.~Jackson,

\invite Isaiah 3:16

God says: ``The women in this city are so haughty!$
\quad They strut around with heads held high,$
\qquad flirting with their eyes;$
\quad they mince along with dainty steps,$
\qquad jingling with their feet.''

[The letters `o' and `d' of `God' might be put in small caps.
This verse should be fun to do because of the strong imagery.]

\endletter\makelabel
% Amos *
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
%Mr.~Aloisio Sergio Magalh\~aes
%Rua Meno Barreto 137, Botafogo
%Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL
Mr.~Peter Fraterdeus
804 Dempster
Evanston, IL 60602

\body

Dear Mr.~Fraterdeus,

\invite Amos 4:1

Listen to this, you fat cows of Bashan,$
\quad you women who live on the hill of Samaria:$
You, who squeeze the powerless and crush the penniless;$
you, who order your husbands to bring lots of drinks!

\endletter\makelabel
% Micah *
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Timothy S. Girvin
Maritime Building, Suite 408
911 Western Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104

\body

Dear Tim,

\invite Micah 4:4

People will dwell in the shade$
\quad of their own grape vines$ % revised text, Jan 87!
\quad and their own fig trees;$
\quad nobody will make them afraid.$ % revised text, Jan 87!
For God Almighty has made this decree. % revised text, Jan 87!

[This is the revised wording I mentioned when I telephoned awhile back.
Vines and fig leaves could perhaps give shade to these words!\thinspace]

\endletter\makelabel
% Luke *
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mrs.~Alice Koeth
221 East 88th Street
New York, NY 10028

\body

Dear Alice,

\invite Luke 3:16

John told everybody, ``I am baptizing you with water.$
But someone more powerful is coming;$
I am not even fit to untie his shoes!$
He will baptize you with a holy Spirit, and with fire.''

[In this verse it might be nice to emphasize and contrast the key words
`water' and `fire'. Also the Spirit is connected with the idea of `wind'.
Powerful images indeed!
But don't let me force your hand; I'm sure your judgement is much better
than mine.]

\endletter\makelabel
\end
% letter to Walt Schroeder
\def\today{April 16, 1987}
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Dr.~Walter Schroeder
307 North Pine Street
San Gabriel, California

\body

Dear Walt,

Thanks for your letter of April 13. I don't have time for a lengthy reply,
since I'm putting all my spare hours into writing the first drafts of
the New Testament sections, and I'm getting comments from dozens of people.
However, I thought I'd better write a note so that you know how much I
appreciate hearing from you.

I suppose I should write a book about exactly what I believe, but this book
is rather a book that tries to help people from many different backgrounds
understand more about the Bible (and about what they believe). Therefore my
purpose is to stimulate discussion and questions rather than to provide
answers. By searching the Scriptures, people will be more receptive to
the Holy Spirit, and I'm hoping to help that happen.

It's interesting that you mention Peter's comment about the Bible's
complexity. Guess which verse his statement is in!

Although my goal is to let the Bible interpret itself---this is something
I neglected to say in the Foreword, but I'll fix that---there are places
where I do cautiously give opinions. Mostly I want to state where points
of controversy exist, and let the readers think things over. Even so,
I'm sure my liberal friends will think I am too conservative, and my
conservative friends will think I am too liberal!

The short books (Obadiah, Haggai, Philemon, etc.)~are very similar to other
books that appear nearby, and it turns out that I do have appropriate
things to quote from every book when trying to bring out the meaning
of all the 3\thinspace:\thinspace16s. Therefore the fact that some books
had to be omitted does not turn out to be serious. More to be pitied is
the fact that I don't get into later chapters of the longer books
like Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Revelation.
The next time I do this I might start at the end and go to the third-last
chapter and the 16th-last verse!

After my study of much literature, I guess I've come to a position that is
about 80\% conservative and 20\% liberal; but I don't expect
anybody else to decide things the way I have (nor am I sure I won't
change my opinions as I learn more). The thing I'm most sure about
is that it's not necessary to ``buy a whole package'' and be 100\% one
way or the other.

For example, as I studied the many debates about the ``historical-critical
method'' I found that almost always the arguments of the scholars that
were all the rage in scholarly circles about 1900 have since been
abandoned by the people who write most convincingly to the scholars of
today. And almost always the books from the German universities that
are still hooked on these approaches leave me cold. It's unfortunate that
tenure decisions in theology departments are based on the originality
of theories! No wonder so much weird stuff gets published. Recent
arch{\ae}ology has in fact
confirmed the older hypotheses in a majority of cases. Yet there are
four things from those scholars that I believe are persuasive, namely
the J-E-P theory for Genesis--Numbers, the distinction between
Deutero-Isaiah and Isaiah, and the late authorship of Daniel and Jonah.
The hundreds of other things proposed by that school (multiple editing, etc.)\
can be used to prove any preconceived idea, and they are no more
plausible than the simplest hypotheses; but these four things seem to be
reasonable ways to explain the books as they appear now.

 I have studied many
arguments pro and con, so that I think I've come across the best reasoning
by scholars of all persuasions, and I was persuaded in these four instances.
(I suppose it's arrogant for me to say that, but I have really been scouring
libraries and bookstores!)
Of course I don't think people who hold other views from my own are necessarily
incorrect or eternally damned. Some things are debatable and `adiaphora'.
An academic like me is bound to worship other academics to a certain extent,
yet I keep trying to live in accordance with God's will by using the
abilities he gave me without being misled by them.

 When Jesus
refers to `Moses and the prophets' he is referring to the books as
everybody of his time referred to them; he wasn't making a statement
about who wrote them, he was speaking about their value.
Books can have many authors and editors and still
be inspired by God. My main point is that it's possible to think that J-E-P
is a valid (though debatable) hypothesis
without believing very much in the historical-critical method. It's possible
to go partway; there's no reason why a certain group of scholars must be
100\% wrong just because they make mistakes.
The scholars who saw that these things were successful in a few cases got
carried away and clearly went too far; but now there is a definite trend
in the other direction, in all the best theological journals.
And in the cases I mentioned, the result for me has been {\it more\/}
appreciation of the Bible, not less.

(Incidentally, Luther in his {\sl Table Talk\/}
said he thought that Genesis was written by Noah, Abraham, etc., not Moses.)

Regarding different styles, I plan to point out in the New Testament
section that the methods used to compare authorship of Paul's letters
would surely prove that each of the chapters of my own book is by
a different author! My vocabulary from chapter to chapter is quite
different, and so is the style, because different points come up.

The Genesis passage is so rich, I will have to cut some of what I've written
already. The question of original sin is not
addressed in verse 3\thinspace:\thinspace16, so I did not go into the
many ramifications of that. Still, I didn't get to mention commentators
who think that this passage justifies all sorts of male domination.

I know that my faith doesn't rest on the assumption that the story of Adam
and Eve is a verbatim account of an actual happening. It could have happened,
but I don't see anything crumbling if it didn't. I believe the story
has many truths to tell me, and to tell people of other generations
in the past and the future, but I know that standards of historical scholarship
and scientific accuracy change from generation to generation.
Is it impossible to teach important lessons by parables?
Is it impossible that God wants some things to be left as mysteries for us
to ponder?

So you see, you ask me questions and I ask you questions. These things have
been debated for generations, and I'm convinced that God wants it to be
that way.
I will try to word things in my book so that people of all persuasions find
good questions to ask themselves as they take a tour through the Bible,
via the 3\thinspace:\thinspace16s.
I don't want to deny people who are 100\% in any direction the
chance for such additional study.
I have many Jewish readers as well as Christian and agnostic.
I~do think that God has been guiding me
in this work. There are so many people in universities who have no
incentive to read the Bible, but already I see many of my colleagues looking
into these things. Other books don't reach these people; perhaps mine can.

Please keep the letters coming, as you are inspired to write! However, please
understand that my answers to your subsequent letters will probably be
embedded in the book when it appears, not in separate epistles like this,
since there are so many people sending me comments.

\closing
A Happy and Blessed Easter to you and yours,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
% second progress report
\def\today{March 26, 1987}
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Prof.~Hermann Zapf
Seitersweg 35
D-6100 Darmstadt, WEST GERMANY

\body

Dear Hermann,

At last I'm able to take a breath and send you another progress report
on `3\thinspace:\thinspace16'.
Once again I can repeat what I said last October:
``Every possible combination of circumstances has happened by now! Things
are well under way, and there are only a few problems at the moment.''

I continue to write one chapter each weekend, whenever possible,
but sometimes special
things come up and I must let another week slip by. Since my previous
detailed report, 21 weeks have elapsed and I have completed 12 more chapters;
thus, progress continues to be steady but slow. Exactly 20 chapters remain
to be written. Many of my colleagues are now reading the draft copy
for the Old Testament, and I'm glad that they seem to like it even without
the artwork!

The most surprising thing is that the pastor of my church has gotten so
enthusiastic that he is seriously thinking of taking time off next year to
travel around the world arranging exhibits of this calligraphy, and giving
slide presentations at churches about this book.

One of the young ladies at our church happened to see a copy of your
artwork for John 3\thinspace:\thinspace16 on the pastor's desk, and she
loves it so much that she
wants to convert it into needlepoint! You and I know that digitization at
low resolution will not preserve the nuances of letterforms, but still it
was interesting to see how she was immediately attracted to the design.

Now, about the artwork. I spent ten hours at the Xerox machine and was finally
able to make the reference copies that you asked for ages ago. Although
Xerography loses much of the beauty, especially when I have to repeat it
in order to get the desired reduction factor, there is no doubt that these
sheets will be extremely useful as an organizational aid, while everything
is coming together.  So I'm very glad you made the suggestion.

Enclosed are 48 sheets, showing all of the completed pieces I've received
so far. One of these needs to be redone, as I'll explain below; so that leaves
12 still missing. (There are 59 chapters.)

Among the twelve stragglers are three people who told me last year
they would contribute, but I haven't heard anything from them since then.
I would really like to get their work, so I don't want to reassign those
texts unless I'm sure they are unwilling or unable to do it. Most
important is Alice; I plan to telephone her next week. Next is Donald
Jackson, since it would be especially nice to have the Queen's
Calligrapher showing how he uses real quills. The other is Luigi Maletto;
I don't know his work, but I really would like to have Italy represented,
and he certainly signed his name beautifully when he returned my postcard.
Unfortunately the mail system in Italy is terrible, and I fear that my
letters to him are lost; even worse, he may have mailed artwork to me that
will never arrive!

If you can do anything to help encourage Jackson and/or Maletto to send me
their work before the end of April, say, I will breathe much easier. I
will be glad to pay the postage if they send things via safe, fast mail of
some sort.

I know that several other people are at work on their pieces, and I'll have
those soon (Holmes, Fraterdeus, Girvin, Maveety, Hoffman).

That leaves four ``problem children''. I don't have anybody currently
assigned to the books of Exodus, Nehemiah, or Daniel; furthermore, the art for
Deuteronomy is enclosed, but it needs to be redone for several reasons:
Margaret Shepherd's idea of outlining the territory described in
Deuteronomy 3\thinspace:\thinspace16 is clever, but it unfortunately relies
on an imaginary
river that doesn't exist, so she has the Israelites in Ammonite territory.
Also, she has emphasized the last phrase, `extending to the middle of
that riverbed', but these words are not important, they're only a minor
footnote; the important words `Jabbok River' and `Arnon River' have not
been highlighted. A third problem is that the layout is rectangular rather than
square. Fourthly, as you pointed out, the tiny `Deuteronomy' doesn't work
too well. I'm not sure whether I should ask her to make the modifications or
if I should start over from scratch. At present I'm inclined to try
somebody else, since there still are many excellent people yet unasked.
Whoever I ask, I would like to discuss it with them as they do it, since this
is a verse where I specifically planned the translation so that it could
be used to make a map.

You asked if you should write to Chris Brand to get something from the
Netherlands. He was included in my original list, but he mailed back a
postcard on July 17 checking the box that says
`I'm sorry, but I cannot contribute'. I also tried Jan Schalkwijk,
but he only wants to do Dutch texts.  My third try for the Netherlands
was Karina Meister, and that didn't work either.
In the game of baseball, three strikes means we're out! So it looks
like the Low Countries will not be represented.

Jef Boudens wrote on August 1 as follows: `Your project is wonderful and I
would really like to contribute to it. However, I regret I have to say that
I cannot accept your kind invitation. Three weeks ago I had to undergo
serious surgery and I am out of circulation for several months.'
It may be that his health has returned and he would now like to be
assigned to one of the remaining verses? I wouldn't want to ask him
if he is still convalescing.

Claude Mediavilla says he is a French citizen, so I should list him
under France. This means I have nobody from South America or Spain
or Portugal. Only Rodr{\'\i}guez-Ben{\'\i}tez from Puerto Rico
represents the wonderful Spanish sensitivity so far! Of course, I~can't
expect to cover everything.

I think I would like to ask John Prestianni to do one of the remaining
verses, probably Deuteronomy. Timothy Botts is another good possibility.
Anne Yokosakamaki Okimoto has just moved to this area, and she could
perhaps represent Japan very nicely although she's very American.

The book {\sl Sixty Alphabets\/} has examples by Marc Drogin and
John Smith that represent pleasant styles we don't have so far.

Please let me know what you think; I won't make any more invitations
until I hear from you. I~am not at all concerned about spending too
much money on this; \TeX\ has been doing extremely well, and I'm glad
to be putting some of the royalties into the hands of people who
deserve it so much more than~I.

The 48 samples enclosed are pretty much self-explanatory. In each case
I tried to show the final size, but sometimes I have things tipped
to the left or right. I'm thinking
that I might ask you or Jill to make a few small touchups: (1)~Add a
period after `lilies' in Song of Solomon. (2)~Alter the word `he'
in Lamentations, so that it is more legible. (3)~In Pronenko's collage
for 1~Timothy, I'd like to move `revealed' to the left column and
have `in body' in the right.

Perhaps you will think one or another of these should be replaced, in order
to improve the collection as a whole. If so, please let me know, since
there still is time to invite additional contributions.

I'm sure you will have important ideas about how to improve some of the
color separations, etc. I enclose a color strip that shows some of the
effects possible by overlapping the PMT colors we have.

Jill has an idea that the poster could be designed in such a way that
it could easily be made into an accordion-fold book, if people want to
do a small amount of cutting, folding, and sewing.

Although the originals are much
more exciting than Xerox copies can be, I think you'll understand
why I'm really happy about almost every page.

By the way, Wadisherla in Bombay
sent me eight different treatments of his verse! Three of them were
really hard to choose between, they show a real mastery of the medium;
but Jill and I both independently selected the one enclosed. Xerography
does not capture the wonderfully subtle shading in this work, but you
can certainly see the fascinating influence of India in the letterforms.

A couple weeks ago Briem was in town with his exhibit of {\sl Sixty
Alphabets}. I went to the opening in San Francisco and took with me
black-and-white prints to show off some of these pieces.
Everybody loved them, of course.
I~met a man named Alan Blackman who was able to identify an amazing number of
the artists just by looking at this one example of their work.

Please give my best to Gudrun. Her contribution especially received many oohs
and ahs in San Francisco!

\closing
Best regards,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
Enclosure: Sample pages (Xeroxes of Xeroxes of Xeroxes!)

\endletter
\makelabel
% first progress report
\def\today{October 22, 1986}
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Prof.~Hermann Zapf
Seitersweg 35
D-6100 Darmstadt, WEST GERMANY

\body

Dear Hermann,

Here's the progress report I promised about `3\thinspace:\thinspace16'.
Every possible combination of circumstances has happened by now! Things
are well under way, and there are only a few problems at the moment.

I'm enclosing some 35\thinspace mm slides so that you can see some of
the work that has come in; you can keep these, since Jill wants to take
another set.

In this letter I'll go through the book chapter by chapter, and let you know
exactly what the current status is. Please keep my remarks confidential, since
I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings in a few cases where I have
negative criticisms.

Genesis has been a problem, but I think it will be
straightened out soon. I had asked Donald Jackson to do it, but he
preferred to do another verse (one that doesn't involve ``women's
lib''!). Then I asked Karina Meister, who had been recommended by
Jean Evans, since the other two Dutch calligraphers were unable
to participate and I wanted to have the Netherlands represented. Karina
was very enthusiastic, but neither Jill nor I like the work she
submitted very much. Therefore I've now asked Mr.~Williams
(a black calligrapher from Chicago, whose excellent work appears in the
special issue of {\sl Visible Language\/} edited by Briem a few
years ago) to do this one.

Exodus might be a problem. I asked Sharon Binder, but
she declined. In August I wrote to Vardjiev in Bulgaria; still haven't
heard from him, but I haven't given up yet since mail to that
country is slow.

Leviticus is done; Ismar David sent some excellent artwork. (I received it
too recently to include it in this batch of slides.)

Numbers is also done (by Ruuhinen), see slide 24.

Deuteronomy is done too, see slides 27 and 29. You were concerned about
Margaret Shepherd's books, but Jill and I think she did well here.
There will be a screen to indicate the geographical region described
in the verse; the colors in slide 29 are not the true ones, they are
just the rubilith she cut. Jill and~I have no doubt that we'll
be able to make this work well.

Joshua is missing; the man I had asked (Richard Lipton, recommended strongly by
John Benson the stonecutter) just decided he didn't have time after all.
So I'm reassigning it.

Judges: Borja did an outstanding job, with lefthandedness emphasized in
an interesting way. Sorry, I don't have a slide of that one either.

Ruth: Nicely done by Veljovi\'c. But I made a stupid typographical error
in the wording I sent him (`base' instead of `back'), so now I've had
to ask him to make a correction. Very embarrassing, but I think it will
work out all right; we could patch it ourselves if necessary.

1 Samuel: Julian Waters has agreed to do it. Not received yet, but
his postcard was warmly enthusiastic so no doubt I'll get the art soon.

2 Samuel: Still no word from Jontschew in Bulgaria. If there is
no reply from him by the time I return from Paris (November~1), I'll
have to assign the Bulgarian verses to somebody else. I don't suppose
there's any way to send a telegram?

1 Kings: Bongard in Norway is enthusiastic, will send it soon.

2 Kings: The example I received from Kot in Poland was disappointing, because
his best work incorporates little drawings but this was only some
rather strange lettering. I have asked him to try again, and to
use some of the charming pictures he is so good at.

1 Chronicles: Werner Schneider sent an excellent piece (again, unfortunately,
I don't have a slide to show you just now).

2 Chronicles: Here is a nice one from Allen Q. Wong of Corvallis, Oregon
(see slide~21). I~invited him because I especially liked the work of his
that I saw in that {\sl Visible Language\/} collection. He has just written
me to ask your address, because (he says) `I'd like to personally thank him
for including me in this exciting book'. So I~sent him your address;
I didn't have to heart to tell him that it was me, not you, who actually
did the inviting in this case, and I hope you don't mind this!

Ezra will be done by Derick Pao with his unique embossing technique.

Nehemiah: I've heard no response from Hauyon in Chile, so I'll have to assign
it to somebody else if there is no reply by November~1.

Esther: Nice work by Eberhardt, see slide 3.

Job: Maletto has just replied affirmatively to my letter of July~4, so
there is still hope that I will be hearing from some of the others.

Psalms: Kris Holmes is reportedly working on one that will include the
word `peace' in many languages.

Proverbs: Excellent work by Susie Taylor, slide~34.

Ecclesiastes: Will be done by Sheila Walters.

Song of Solomon: Very nicely done by Rohde, slide~30.

Isaiah: Donald Jackson is working on this one.

Jeremiah: A superb job by Claude Dieterich, slide~22.

Lamentations will be done by Georgia Deaver; she is returning to
California soon.

Ezekiel: I've just reassigned it, having heard nothing from H\"oglund.

Daniel: This is another problem. The work sent by Mrs.\
Horlbeck-Kappler was very sloppy, not at all pleasing to Jill or me
(see slide~7);
so I have paid her the money and assigned the verse to somebody else.
In the letter I wrote to her, I didn't mention that we would not be
using her verse; I just politely thanked her for her contribution
and sent a check.
Jill says I should have been more explicit, but I couldn't think of
a good way to put it. Later on, when the book is published, I'll
send her a copy with a note that I'm sorry I wasn't able to use
everything that was submitted.

Hosea: Very nice work by Skaggs (slide 36). You can't see it, but there
will be an interesting screened overlay in which the word `orgies' will
appear doubled and reflected on itself in a neat way at the top.

Joel: Another neat solution, by Fred Peter (slide 19). This doesn't show
the actual colors, and it's hard for you to see the effect he'll get
without seeing the originals;
this will make a really nice contrast with the others, and it dramatizes
the words very appropriately.

Amos: No word from Magalh\~aes of Brazil; I may have to forget about the people
in South America. Too~bad.

Jonah: Very nice rendition by Lili Wronker (slide 20). The plant will be
in a lighter screen, and the interlinear Hebrew will also be very light;
this is not shown in the slide. (She researched the ricinus plant by going
to the Bronx Arboretum, and decided to buy such a plant for her home!)

Micah: Tim Girvin is working on this.

Nahum: Briem has agreed to do it.

Habakkuk: Karlgeorg Hoefer sent two solutions, one of which was extremely
good, but unfortunately there was a typographic error so I have had to
ask him to do it again.

Zephaniah: Nicely done by Pam Jones, slide 9.

Zechariah: I had the wrong address for Mediavilla; have just re-sent the
letter of invitation to his new address, which is
212 Avenue du Maine, F-75014 Paris.

Malachi is being done by Jacqueline Sakwa, who was recommended by
Matthew Carter.

Speaking of Matthew, the verse Matthew 3\thinspace:\thinspace16 was done
masterfully by Neugebauer (slide~14). Ah!

Mark: Adolf Bernd sent two solutions (slides 17 and 18), one of which~(17)
pleases us very much.

Alice has agreed to do Luke.

Thus, with your John, the four Gospels will be especially well done.

Lothar Hoffman is working on Acts 3\thinspace:\thinspace16.

Alfred Linz is doing Romans.

1 Corinthians was nicely done by Villu Toots; this came in just recently.

2 Corinthians will be done by Mrs.~Zig\'any.

Galatians has been done in an interesting way by Kr\'atky (two colors).
I may have a little trouble separating the colors, because they cross over
each other on his drawing, but I think there will be no problem.  This is
another one that came too late for us to include in this batch of slides.

Ephesians: Very well done by Kerstin Anckers (slide 10). Interestingly,
she said that she had been feeling bad and this verse was exactly what
she needed! God works in mysterious ways.

Philippians will be done by Guillermo Rodriguez-Benitez.

Colossians will be done by my colleague Neenie Billawala.

1 Thessalonians will be done by Margaret Snape.

2 Thessalonians, by Gudrun (slide 15), is of course one of my special
favorites. Jill says so too.

1 Timothy will be done by Pronenko. He sent an interesting letter,
written in English on a Cyrillic typewriter!

2 Timothy has been beautifully ``cut'' by David Kindersley (slide~4).

Hebrews will be done by John Stevens.

James, by Jerry Kelly (slide~26), is extremely legible even at a distance!

1 Peter has been received from Jos\'e Mendoza y Almeida (too late for a slide);
another great piece of work.

2 Peter is being done by Jean Evans (recommended by Matthew Carter),
who phoned me last week to say she is excited about the way she's
doing it.

Jeanyee Wong sent a marvelous rendition of 1 John 3\thinspace:\thinspace16
(slide~5).

Last but not least, Rick Cusick is doing Revelations.

The slides also include shots of other artwork, including some of the
interesting envelopes I received.

Well, you can see that things are humming along. I still have plenty of
names from the lists you sent me, in case more problems arise.  There have
been only two disappointments, so far; more than half of the work has
already been received, and it's spectacular. I have even received the
`permission forms' back from ten people already, although I just mailed
them last week. I wish the people in Bulgaria, Chile, and Brazil would
respond, but even if they don't this is sure to be a terrific book.

The bottleneck will not be the artwork, but my own writing of the text!
So far I've finished rough drafts of all chapters from Genesis to Ezekiel,
and I plan to do one chapter every weekend from now until next spring
when the book should be done. The chapters written so far have been
turning out very well. So I'm very happy!

Next week I'm coming to Europe, to receive an honorary doctor's degree
from the University of Paris. It's too bad I won't have time to visit
Germany on this trip, since I must get back to teach my classes and to
receive another honorary doctorate from the University of Rochester!

Please give my best to Gudrun. Jill and I hope to see you both again soon.

\closing
Best regards,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
% Malachi, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mrs.~Patrick J. Maveety
1453 College Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306

\body

Dear Darle,

\invite Malachi 3:16

People who revere God have been conferring together,
and God has listened attentively.$
A book has been written in his presence,$
containing a permanent record of those who$
revere him and keep his name in their thoughts.

[The book or scroll referred to in this verse must have been
beautifully calligraphed!\thinspace]

\endletter\makelabel
% Genesis, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Ms.~Karina Meister
Ten Kate Straat 65\mathdel''\mathdel
1053 BZ Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

\body

Dear Ms.~Meister,

I'm sorry to report that I won't be able to use your artwork in my
book on the 3\thinspace:\thinspace16s of the Bible, due to an unfortunate
combination of circumstances. I'm sure you can imagine how difficult it
is to put together a large project of this kind, and I hope you will not
be too disappointed by this news.

Perhaps we will be able to work together on something else in the future.

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
\endletter
\makelabel
% Habakkuk, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Prof.~Karlgeorg Hoefer
Weilburger Stra\ss e 7
D-6050 Offenbach, WEST GERMANY

\body

Dear Karlgeorg,

Hooray, I received your package today, and everything is beautiful!

Best wishes for 1987. I'll be sending a progress report on my book
in a couple of weeks.

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
\endletter
\makelabel
% 2 Samuel, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Ms.~Jacqueline Sakwa
Bitstream, Inc.
215 First Street
Cambridge, MA 02142

\body

Dear Jacky,

I fear I had better assign Malachi 3\thinspace:\thinspace16 to somebody
else, in order to complete my book on time.

I knew it would be impossible to expect sixty busy people to be able
to participate in my own project, so please do not imagine that I am in
any way upset about the fact that I haven't heard from you. Perhaps we
can collaborate some other time.

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
P.S.: Since mail can be slow, I'll wait two weeks before actually inviting
another calligrapher to do the verse, just in case you've already
completed it, unbeknownst to me!
\endletter
\makelabel
% 2 Samuel, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Satyanarayan Mallayya Wadisherla
39/1048 Adarsh Nagar, Worli
Bombay-400025, INDIA

\body

Dear Mr.~Wadisherla,

Thank you very much for your letter of 12/12 and the most beautiful
Christmas card.

I am pleased that you are working on the passage from 2~Samuel,
and I hope to receive the completed artwork before the end of February
if it is at all possible. Most of the other illustrations have
already been received, but I know that you have gotten a later
start than the others.

It is a thrill for me to be receiving wonderful creations from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
\endletter
\makelabel
% 2 Kings, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Andrzej Kot
20-112, Vrodzka 19~m~2
Lublin, POLAND

\body

Dear Mr.~Kot,

I just received the package containing your new renderings of
Elisha's words. Thank you very much for this ``Christmas present.''

I'll let you know how the book is progressing. If everything goes as
planned, I should be able to send you a completed book before
next Christmas!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
\endletter
\makelabel
% Habakkuk, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Prof.~Karlgeorg Hoefer
Weilburger Stra\ss e 7
D-6050 Offenbach, WEST GERMANY

\body

Dear Karlgeorg,

Thanks very much for the beautiful calligraphy you sent in response to my
invitation. Also for the book and the other ``goodies'' in your package.

Unfortunately, there is a slight {\it typographic error\/} that ought to
be fixed before I can use your work! Please see the Xerox copy attached.

It would be best if you could do the entire page again, since I would like
to have an exhibition of all the exciting artwork that has been submitted.
However, if that is too much trouble, please send me a ``patch'' that I can use
in place of the incorrect word when I take this to the printer.

It is a thrill for me to be receiving such wonderful creations from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
Enclosure: Xerox showing necessary correction
P.S.: Greetings from Neenie too! She is doing Colossians %
3\thinspace:\thinspace16.
\endletter
\end\makelabel
% 2 Samuel, continued
\bloctrue
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
%Mr.~Wassil Jontschew
%ul.~``6 Septemwz'' 3
%Sofia, BULGARIA
Satyanarayan Mallayya Wadisherla
%39-1048 Adarsh Nagar
%Worli
%Bombay 25, INDIA
c/o Shabbir Diwan
1253 Warren Road
Lakewood, OH 44107

\body

Dear Mr.~Wadisherla,

\invite 2 Samuel 3:16

Michal's husband walked behind her, sobbing,$
as far as Bahurim; then Abner ordered him to go back.$
So he went back.

[This is a sad story, so you might want to incorporate something that
suggests crying---for example, by hinting at teardrops in some way. I'm
not sure what calligraphy looks like if you use water-soluble ink and cry
over it; tears are one art medium that probably has never been tried before, and
for good reason!\thinspace]

\endletter\makelabel
% Nehemiah, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
%Se\~nor Chaly Hauyon
%Casilla 1759
%Santiago, CHILE
Mrs.~Ann Hechle
23 Eastville, Claremont Road
Bath / Somerset, ENGLAND BA1 6QN

\body

Dear Mrs.~Hechle,

\invite Nehemiah 3:16

Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, leader of half the Beth-zur district,$
restored the next section of the wall,$
from a point facing the tombs of David,$
to the artificial pool and to the House of Heroes.

[It may be possible to give this verse a feel of arch\ae ology. The site being
described can still be visited; it's on the south part of the ``city
of David'', south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. I'm not sure this
information will be of any use to you, but I thought I should mention
it just in case it gives you a bright idea!\thinspace]

\endletter\makelabel
% Amos, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
%Mr.~Aloisio Sergio Magalh\~aes
%Rua Meno Barreto 137, Botafogo
%Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL
Mr.~Peter Fraterdeus
804 Dempster
Evanston, IL 60602

\body

Dear Mr.~Fraterdeus,

\invite Amos 4:1

Listen to this, you fat cows of Bashan,$
\quad you women who live on the hill of Samaria:$
You, who squeeze the powerless and crush the penniless;$
you, who order your husbands to bring lots of drinks!

\endletter\makelabel
% Ezekiel
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Michael Harvey
4 Valley Road
Bridport / Dorset, ENGLAND DT6 4JR

\body

Dear Mr.~Harvey,

\invite Ezekiel 3:16

The seven days came to an end---$
then Jehovah's word came to me.

[The dash `---' is important here, for reasons I shall explain
in my comments on this verse. The second line is much more
important than the first; you might want to make the
word `Jehovah' especially fancy, and emphasized somehow.
For example, it would be appropriate to use small caps for the lowercase
letters `ehovah'.]

\endletter\makelabel
\end
% Joshua, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Jean Larcher
16 chemin des Bourgognes
F-9500 Cergy, FRANCE

\body

Dear M. Larcher,

\invite Joshua 3:16

The water came to a standstill and accumulated$
far upstream at Adam, the town near Zarethan.$
This completely cut off the flow down to$
the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea),$
so the people were able to cross opposite Jericho.

[You might want to add some palm trees for decoration, since the Bible
sometimes calls Jericho the `city of palms.'\thinspace]

\endletter\makelabel
% first progress report
\def\today{October 22, 1986}
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Prof.~Hermann Zapf
Seitersweg 35
D-6100 Darmstadt, WEST GERMANY

\body

Dear Hermann,

Here's the progress report I promised about `3\thinspace:\thinspace16'.
Every possible combination of circumstances has happened by now! Things
are well under way, and there are only a few problems at the moment.

I'm enclosing some 35\thinspace mm slides so that you can see some of
the work that has come in; you can keep these, since Jill wants to take
another set.

In this letter I'll go through the book chapter by chapter, and let you know
exactly what the current status is. Please keep my remarks confidential, since
I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings in a few cases where I have
negative criticisms.

Genesis has been a problem, but I think it will be
straightened out soon. I had asked Donald Jackson to do it, but he
preferred to do another verse (one that doesn't involve ``women's
lib''!). Then I asked Karina Meister, who had been recommended by
Jean Evans, since the other two Dutch calligraphers were unable
to participate and I wanted to have the Netherlands represented. Karina
was very enthusiastic, but neither Jill nor I like the work she
submitted very much. Therefore I've now asked Mr.~Williams
(a black calligrapher from Chicago, whose excellent work appears in the
special issue of {\sl Visible Language\/} edited by Briem a few
years ago) to do this one.

Exodus might be a problem. I asked Sharon Binder, but
she declined. In August I wrote to Vardjiev in Bulgaria; still haven't
heard from him, but I haven't given up yet since mail to that
country is slow.

Leviticus is done; Ismar David sent some excellent artwork. (I received it
too recently to include it in this batch of slides.)

Numbers is also done (by Ruuhinen), see slide 24.

Deuteronomy is done too, see slides 27 and 29. You were concerned about
Margaret Shepherd's books, but Jill and I think she did well here.
There will be a screen to indicate the geographical region described
in the verse; the colors in slide 29 are not the true ones, they are
just the rubilith she cut. Jill and~I have no doubt that we'll
be able to make this work well.

Joshua is missing; the man I had asked (Richard Lipton, recommended strongly by
John Benson the stonecutter) just decided he didn't have time after all.
So I'm reassigning it.

Judges: Borja did an outstanding job, with lefthandedness emphasized in
an interesting way. Sorry, I don't have a slide of that one either.

Ruth: Nicely done by Veljovi\'c. But I made a stupid typographical error
in the wording I sent him (`base' instead of `back'), so now I've had
to ask him to make a correction. Very embarrassing, but I think it will
work out all right; we could patch it ourselves if necessary.

1 Samuel: Julian Waters has agreed to do it. Not received yet, but
his postcard was warmly enthusiastic so no doubt I'll get the art soon.

2 Samuel: Still no word from Jontschew in Bulgaria. If there is
no reply from him by the time I return from Paris (November~1), I'll
have to assign the Bulgarian verses to somebody else. I don't suppose
there's any way to send a telegram?

1 Kings: Bongard in Norway is enthusiastic, will send it soon.

2 Kings: The example I received from Kot in Poland was disappointing, because
his best work incorporates little drawings but this was only some
rather strange lettering. I have asked him to try again, and to
use some of the charming pictures he is so good at.

1 Chronicles: Werner Schneider sent an excellent piece (again, unfortunately,
I don't have a slide to show you just now).

2 Chronicles: Here is a nice one from Allen Q. Wong of Corvallis, Oregon
(see slide~21). I~invited him because I especially liked the work of his
that I saw in that {\sl Visible Language\/} collection. He has just written
me to ask your address, because (he says) `I'd like to personally thank him
for including me in this exciting book'. So I~sent him your address;
I didn't have to heart to tell him that it was me, not you, who actually
did the inviting in this case, and I hope you don't mind this!

Ezra will be done by Derick Pao with his unique embossing technique.

Nehemiah: I've heard no response from Hauyon in Chile, so I'll have to assign
it to somebody else if there is no reply by November~1.

Esther: Nice work by Eberhardt, see slide 3.

Job: Maletto has just replied affirmatively to my letter of July~4, so
there is still hope that I will be hearing from some of the others.

Psalms: Kris Holmes is reportedly working on one that will include the
word `peace' in many languages.

Proverbs: Excellent work by Susie Taylor, slide~34.

Ecclesiastes: Will be done by Sheila Walters.

Song of Solomon: Very nicely done by Rohde, slide~30.

Isaiah: Donald Jackson is working on this one.

Jeremiah: A superb job by Claude Dieterich, slide~22.

Lamentations will be done by Georgia Deaver; she is returning to
California soon.

Ezekiel: I've just reassigned it, having heard nothing from H\"oglund.

Daniel: This is another problem. The work sent by Mrs.\
Horlbeck-Kappler was very sloppy, not at all pleasing to Jill or me
(see slide~7);
so I have paid her the money and assigned the verse to somebody else.
In the letter I wrote to her, I didn't mention that we would not be
using her verse; I just politely thanked her for her contribution
and sent a check.
Jill says I should have been more explicit, but I couldn't think of
a good way to put it. Later on, when the book is published, I'll
send her a copy with a note that I'm sorry I wasn't able to use
everything that was submitted.

Hosea: Very nice work by Skaggs (slide 36). You can't see it, but there
will be an interesting screened overlay in which the word `orgies' will
appear doubled and reflected on itself in a neat way at the top.

Joel: Another neat solution, by Fred Peter (slide 19). This doesn't show
the actual colors, and it's hard for you to see the effect he'll get
without seeing the originals;
this will make a really nice contrast with the others, and it dramatizes
the words very appropriately.

Amos: No word from Magalh\~aes of Brazil; I may have to forget about the people
in South America. Too~bad.

Jonah: Very nice rendition by Lili Wronker (slide 20). The plant will be
in a lighter screen, and the interlinear Hebrew will also be very light;
this is not shown in the slide. (She researched the ricinus plant by going
to the Bronx Arboretum, and decided to buy such a plant for her home!)

Micah: Tim Girvin is working on this.

Nahum: Briem has agreed to do it.

Habakkuk: Karlgeorg Hoefer sent two solutions, one of which was extremely
good, but unfortunately there was a typographic error so I have had to
ask him to do it again.

Zephaniah: Nicely done by Pam Jones, slide 9.

Zechariah: I had the wrong address for Mediavilla; have just re-sent the
letter of invitation to his new address, which is
212 Avenue du Maine, F-75014 Paris.

Malachi is being done by Jacqueline Sakwa, who was recommended by
Matthew Carter.

Speaking of Matthew, the verse Matthew 3\thinspace:\thinspace16 was done
masterfully by Neugebauer (slide~14). Ah!

Mark: Adolf Bernd sent two solutions (slides 17 and 18), one of which~(17)
pleases us very much.

Alice has agreed to do Luke.

Thus, with your John, the four Gospels will be especially well done.

Lothar Hoffman is working on Acts 3\thinspace:\thinspace16.

Alfred Linz is doing Romans.

1 Corinthians was nicely done by Villu Toots; this came in just recently.

2 Corinthians will be done by Mrs.~Zig\'any.

Galatians has been done in an interesting way by Kr\'atky (two colors).
I may have a little trouble separating the colors, because they cross over
each other on his drawing, but I think there will be no problem.  This is
another one that came too late for us to include in this batch of slides.

Ephesians: Very well done by Kerstin Anckers (slide 10). Interestingly,
she said that she had been feeling bad and this verse was exactly what
she needed! God works in mysterious ways.

Philippians will be done by Guillermo Rodriguez-Benitez.

Colossians will be done by my colleague Neenie Billawala.

1 Thessalonians will be done by Margaret Snape.

2 Thessalonians, by Gudrun (slide 15), is of course one of my special
favorites. Jill says so too.

1 Timothy will be done by Pronenko. He sent an interesting letter,
written in English on a Cyrillic typewriter!

2 Timothy has been beautifully ``cut'' by David Kindersley (slide~4).

Hebrews will be done by John Stevens.

James, by Jerry Kelly (slide~26), is extremely legible even at a distance!

1 Peter has been received from Jos\'e Mendoza y Almeida (too late for a slide);
another great piece of work.

2 Peter is being done by Jean Evans (recommended by Matthew Carter),
who phoned me last week to say she is excited about the way she's
doing it.

Jeanyee Wong sent a marvelous rendition of 1 John 3\thinspace:\thinspace16
(slide~5).

Last but not least, Rick Cusick is doing Revelations.

The slides also include shots of other artwork, including some of the
interesting envelopes I received.

Well, you can see that things are humming along. I still have plenty of
names from the lists you sent me, in case more problems arise.  There have
been only two disappointments, so far; more than half of the work has
already been received, and it's spectacular. I have even received the
`permission forms' back from ten people already, although I just mailed
them last week. I wish the people in Bulgaria, Chile, and Brazil would
respond, but even if they don't this is sure to be a terrific book.

The bottleneck will not be the artwork, but my own writing of the text!
So far I've finished rough drafts of all chapters from Genesis to Ezekiel,
and I plan to do one chapter every weekend from now until next spring
when the book should be done. The chapters written so far have been
turning out very well. So I'm very happy!

Next week I'm coming to Europe, to receive an honorary doctor's degree
from the University of Paris. It's too bad I won't have time to visit
Germany on this trip, since I must get back to teach my classes and to
receive another honorary doctorate from the University of Rochester!

Please give my best to Gudrun. Jill and I hope to see you both again soon.

\closing
Best regards,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
% Daniel, continued
\bloctrue
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mrs.~Irmgard Horlbeck-Kappler
Dittrichring 14
DDR-701 Leipzig, EAST GERMANY

\body

Dear Mrs.~Horlbeck-Kappler,

Thank you for contributing to my book, `3\thinspace:\thinspace16,
an approach to Bible study'.

I am enclosing a check for \$205, as partial compensation for
the time you have put into this project. If you cannot convert
it into ``Leipziger geld,'' please return the check to me and
let me know what form of payment will work better.

\closing
Sincerely,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
% Habakkuk, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Prof.~Karlgeorg Hoefer
Weilburger Stra\ss e 7
D-6050 Offenbach, WEST GERMANY

\body

Dear Karlgeorg,

Thanks very much for the beautiful calligraphy you sent in response to my
invitation. Also for the book and the other ``goodies'' in your package.

Unfortunately, there is a slight {\it typographic error\/} that ought to
be fixed before I can use your work! Please see the Xerox copy attached.

It would be best if you could do the entire page again, since I would like
to have an exhibition of all the exciting artwork that has been submitted.
However, if that is too much trouble, please send me a ``patch'' that I can use
in place of the incorrect word when I take this to the printer.

It is a thrill for me to be receiving such wonderful creations from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
Enclosure: Xerox showing necessary correction
P.S.: Greetings from Neenie too! She is doing Colossians %
3\thinspace:\thinspace16.
\endletter
\end\makelabel
% Ruth, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Jovica Veljovi\'c
Gospodara Vu\v ci\'ca 229
Beograd, YUGOSLAVIA 11000

\body

Dear Mr.~Veljovi\'c,

Thanks very much for the beautiful calligraphy you sent in response to my
invitation.

Unfortunately, there is a slight {\it typographic error\/} that ought to
be fixed before I can use your work. Please see the Xerox copy attached.

It would be best if you could do the entire page again, since I would like
to have an exhibition of all the exciting artwork that has been submitted.
However, if that is too much trouble, please send me a `patch' that I can use
in place of the incorrect word when I take this to the printer.

It is a thrill for me to be receiving such wonderful creations from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
Enclosure: Xerox showing necessary correction

\endletter
\makelabel
% 2 Kings, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Andrzej Kot
20-112, Vrodzka 19~m~2
Lublin, POLAND

\body

Dear Mr.~Kot,

Thanks very much for the calligraphy you sent in response to my
invitation, and for the many other beautiful samples of your work.

The bookplates and other pieces you sent are filled with charming
animals, and I really think your contribution would be much
enhanced if it had PICTURES to go with the words. How about having
the words of this text surrounded by something like large pools of water,
filled with fishes? The words aren't as important as the idea of LOTS OF
WATER. You have such a wonderful talent for illustration, it would be a
shame to have nothing but calligraphy in this case. Something PLAYFUL
would be much more fun; the Bible isn't always so serious!

It is a thrill for me to be receiving such wonderful creations from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would.

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
\endletter
\makelabel
% 2 Corinthians, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mrs.~Edit Zig\'any
Gutenberg t\'er 2.
H-1088 Budapest, HUNGARY

\body

Dear Mrs.~Zig\'any,

Thanks for your letter of September 4.

I am sorry that I mentioned a deadline of six weeks in the letters that
I sent to Eastern Europe, because that obviously didn't give you much time!
The truth is that I still have to write much of this book, and I will have
plenty of time to finish everything comfortably if you can send me your work
before Christmas.

I am very glad that my letter did reach you and that you are willing to
contribute to my project. Please take your time so that you can enjoy
yourself while doing something many people will love to look at.

It is a thrill for me to be receiving such wonderful creations from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
\endletter
\makelabel
% 1 Timothy, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Leonid Pronenko
ulitsa Nevkipelova, 15-67
CCCP-350065 Krasnodar, SOVIET UNION

\body

Dear Mr.~Pronenko,

Thanks very much for your letter of August 14.
What a neat way to use a Cyrillic typewriter! (I used to own such a machine,
when I studied the Russian language; but alas, I have forgotten almost
everything, due to lack of practice.)

I am sorry that I mentioned a deadline of six weeks in the letters that
I sent to the Soviet Union, because mail service sometimes is very slow
when it must travel so far. Obviously I didn't give you much time to reply!

The truth is that I still have to write much of this book, and I will have
plenty of time to finish everything comfortably if you can send me your work
before the end of the year.

I am very glad that my letter did reach you and that you are willing to
contribute to my project. Please take your time so that you can enjoy
yourself while doing something many people will love to look at.

It is a thrill for me to be receiving such wonderful creations from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
\endletter
\makelabel
% 1 Thessalonians, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mrs.~Margaret Snape
5 Bank Lane
North Sydney NSW 2060, AUSTRALIA

\body

Dear Mrs.~Snape,

Thanks very much for your letter of September 11.

I'm sorry that you and I were traveling at different times, so that it
was impossible for you to reach me by phone after not receiving my
letter until two months had gone by.

However, nothing is lost!
The truth is that I still have to write much of this book, and I will have
plenty of time to finish everything comfortably if you can send me your work
before Christmas.

I am very glad that my letter did reach you and that you are willing to
contribute to my project. Please take your time so that you can enjoy
yourself while doing something many people will love to look at.

The pattern on your stationery is so beautiful, I wonder if there might
be some way to incorporate marbling. Of course I know it's a mistake to force
something into the wrong context, and this particular verse does not especially
suggest a marbling pattern except perhaps if there's a way to connote holiness;
something rather Gothic maybe? I mention this only in case it inspires you
to think of something, not because I want to suggest that it will be the
best way to capture the spirit of 1~Thessalonians 3\thinspace:\thinspace16.

It is a thrill for me to be receiving such wonderful creations from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek
\endletter
\makelabel
% Philippians, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Guillermo Rodriguez-Benitez
G.P.O. Box 71320
San Juan, PUERTO RICO 00936

\body

Dear Mr.~Rodriguez-Benitez,

Thanks for your note of September 5.

You ask about a deadline. It would be best for me if I could receive
your work by the middle of December, since that will help me to estimate the
cost of printing. However, if you cannot finish by that time, I must
confess that my own work on writing the book will not be complete
until several months later; therefore it will be fine if, say, you
send me the artwork before the end of January.

It is exciting for me to be receiving positive replies from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
\end
% temporary letter for revised text

\def\invite #1:#2\par#3\par{\message{#1:#2}\global\advance\count1 by 1
I'm glad I caught you on the phone before you did the `Numbers' verse,
since I unexpectedly received it from a man in Finland who had
checked the `sorry, I cannot participate' box on my first postcard.

The next page shows the verse I would really like you to do. Since it's
the first one in the whole book, more people will be looking at it than
at many of the others.

I originally asked Donald Jackson to do this, but he said he would prefer
a verse that doesn't mention `domination'! My writeup will explain that
Genesis 3\thinspace:\thinspace16 doesn't really justify male domination
(as some men have been claiming over the years); it describes an unnatural
situation that should be rectified.

It is exciting for me to be receiving positive replies from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\nobreak\bigskip \leftskip=\longindentation Sincerely,
    \nobreak\bigskip\bigskip\bigskip % space for signature
Donald E. Knuth\hfil\break
Professor

\leftskip=0pt
\vfill\eject
\null\bigskip\hrule
\bigskip\bigskip
\line{\largebf #1\thinspace:\thinspace#2\hfil\largerm(special
translation for my book)}
\bigskip
{\baselineskip=14pt\bible#3\par}
\bigskip
As I said before,
please use your own judgment about how to interpret these words visually,
and how to arrange them on the page;
but I would like this specific wording and punctuation to be retained.
You may include the title of the verse, if it helps to balance your
composition, but it is not necessary to do this because the title will appear
in the caption. Please do not incorporate your own name as part of the artwork.

}
% Genesis, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~R. Williams
5703 Blackstone
Chicago IL 60637

\body

Dear Mr.~Williams,

\invite Genesis 3:16

Turning to the woman, God said:$
\quad\llap{``}Great will be your troubles during pregnancy,$
\qquad and your labors during childbirth;$
\quad yet you will be filled with desire for your husband,$
\qquad and he will dominate you.''

[You may want to use small caps for the `o' and `d' of `God'.
The words `troubles', `labors', `desire', and `dominate' are
the most important in this verse.]

\endletter
\makelabel
% Ezra, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Derick Pao
904 Far East Finance Center
16 Harcourt Road
HONG KONG

\body

Dear Mr.~Pao,

Thanks very much for your letter of August 19th.

The examples of embossed work you sent are truly beautiful.
My wife and I are wondering how you do it (since we have
been experimenting with hand-made paper ourselves)!

My book won't use the normal 4-color system; instead of the process colors
(cyan, magenta, and yellow)
there are three solid PMS colors (red, blue-green, and ivory).
However, there will be no problem adapting this to your embossed work,
since we can make a black-and-white halftone and combine it with a solid
color in the background. I'll try both red and ivory for the background.
If that doesn't work, I bet we can use the PMS colors instead of the
process colors to get something nice, since true color reproduction
isn't critical.

Therefore, indeed, please send a transparency of embossed work. It will
be a great highlight of my book.

You asked about a deadline. It would be best for me if I could receive
your work by the middle of November.
However, if you cannot finish by that time, I must
confess that my own work on writing the book will not be complete
until several months later; therefore it will be fine if, say, you
send me the artwork before the end of the year.

Please send also the original embossing, because it is already clear
that the magnificent work I'm receiving {\it has\/} to be exhibited.

It is exciting for me to be receiving positive replies from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
\end
% Genesis
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Ms.~Karina Meister
Ten Kate Straat 65\mathdel''\mathdel
1053 BZ Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

\body

Dear Ms.~Meister,

\invite Genesis 3:16

Turning to the woman, God said:$
\quad\llap{``}Great will be your troubles during pregnancy,$
\qquad and your labors during childbirth;$
\quad yet you will be filled with desire for your husband,$
\qquad and he will dominate you.''

[You may want to use small caps for the `o' and `d' of `God'.]

\endletter\makelabel
% temporary letter for revised text

\def\invite #1:#2\par#3\par{\message{#1:#2}\global\advance\count1 by 1
Thanks for your card. I'm sorry to have assigned you a verse that may be
sadly misunderstood by our friends of the female gender. (That was the
hardest chapter for me to write, as you can imagine.)

At the moment, nearly everybody else has agreed to do their verses,
but there's one opening because I just got a note from Boudens that he
is recuperating from serious surgery so he cannot participate.

This one is slightly sexist too, but not about domination!
(Maybe God has been planning my downfall.) If you find it against your
principles, there's a chance somebody else will bow out, but I won't
know that until October (since I'm about to leave for a holiday).

Incidentally, my wife and I fondly remember a lecture you gave at Stanford about
ten years ago, in the Chemistry building. Probably at the invitation of
Eric Hutchinson? Therefore I'm really glad that you are willing
to participate in this book. I had wanted Genesis to be one of the best,
but I certainly understand why you would prefer another, so I will try
for a liberated woman to do Genesis.

Hermann visited me two weeks ago. We are both very happy that the
responses received so far have been overwhelmingly positive.
This should be an exciting book!

\nobreak\bigskip \leftskip=\longindentation Sincerely,
    \nobreak\bigskip\bigskip\bigskip % space for signature
Donald E. Knuth\hfil\break
Professor

\leftskip=0pt
\vfill\eject
\null\bigskip\hrule
\bigskip\bigskip
\line{\largebf #1\thinspace:\thinspace#2\hfil\largerm(special
translation for my book)}
\bigskip
{\baselineskip=14pt\bible#3\par}
\bigskip
As I said before,
please use your own judgment about how to interpret these words visually,
and how to arrange them on the page;
but I would like this specific wording and punctuation to be retained.
You may include the title of the verse, if it helps to balance your
composition, but it is not necessary to do this because the title will appear
in the caption. Please do not incorporate your own name as part of the artwork.

}
% Isaiah
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Donald Jackson
The Hendre Hall
The Hendre, Monmouth
Gwent, ENGLAND NP5 4HQ

\body

Dear Mr.~Jackson,

\invite Isaiah 3:16

God says: ``The women in this city are so haughty!$
\quad They strut around with heads held high,$
\qquad flirting with their eyes;$
\quad they mince along with dainty steps,$
\qquad jingling with their feet.''

[The letters `o' and `d' of `God' might be put in small caps.
This verse should be fun to do because of the strong imagery.]

\endletter\makelabel
% temporary letter for revised text

\def\invite #1:#2\par#3\par{\message{#1:#2}\global\advance\count1 by 1
A month ago I wrote you a letter inviting you to contribute to my book
about the 3\thinspace:\thinspace16s of the Bible. Meanwhile I have
continued to write the book, and I discovered as I got to the chapter
on Job that my translation of that verse was not
the best way to put it in English.

Namely, I want to delete the word `Like' I had used.
Therefore your job becomes one word simpler!

I'm not sure whether you have aleady replied to my letter, since
mail takes awhile to travel overseas; and I'm not sure whether you
will want to participate in this project or not. But I am writing
to you now, so that you have the correct text for the illustration,
just in case you have already begun to work on this.

Just to make sure there is no ambiguity, the new version of Job
3\thinspace:\thinspace16 appears
on the next page. Please use it instead of the text I sent in my
first letter, if you do decide to contribute to this unusual book.

Hermann visited me two weeks ago. We are both very happy that the
responses received so far have been overwhelmingly positive.
This should be an exciting book!

\nobreak\bigskip \leftskip=\longindentation Sincerely,
    \nobreak\bigskip\bigskip\bigskip % space for signature
Donald E. Knuth\hfil\break
Professor

\leftskip=0pt
\vfill\eject
\null\bigskip\hrule
\bigskip\bigskip
\line{\largebf #1\thinspace:\thinspace#2\hfil\largerm(special
translation for my book---corrected)}
\bigskip
{\baselineskip=14pt\bible#3\par}
\bigskip
As I said before,
please use your own judgment about how to interpret these words visually,
and how to arrange them on the page;
but I would like this specific wording and punctuation to be retained.
You may include the title of the verse, if it helps to balance your
composition, but it is not necessary to do this because the title will appear
in the caption. Please do not incorporate your own name as part of the artwork.

}
% Job
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Luigi Cesare Maletto
Via Cumiano 46
I-10141 Torino, ITALY

\body

Dear Mr.~Maletto,

\invite Job 3:16

Why wasn't I stillborn, hidden away?$
\quad a child who never saw the light of day?

\endletter\makelabel
% Leviticus, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Ismar David
132 Nassau Street
New York, NY 10038

\body

Dear Mr.~David,

Thanks very much for the note you sent. I'm sorry about the missing
postcard; we had sent a complete package to 258 Broadway, and
the card must have gotten lost when we re-sent to the correct address.

You asked about a deadline. It would be best for me if I could receive
your work by the middle of October, since that will help me to estimate the
cost of printing. However, if you cannot finish by that time, I must
confess that my own work on writing the book will not be complete
until several months later; therefore it will be fine if, say, you
send me the artwork before the end of the year.

It is exciting for me to be receiving positive replies from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
% 1 Kings, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Hermann Bongard
17 Bjerk\aa sen
N-1310 Blommenholm, NORWAY

\body

Dear Mr.~Bongard,

{\it Tusen takk\/}
for your postcard of July 22! Please forgive my tardy reply, as I'm
out of the office this summer.

You asked about a deadline. It would be best for me if I could receive
your work by the middle of October, since that will help me to estimate the
cost of printing. However, if you cannot finish by that time, I must
confess that my own work on writing the book will not be complete
until several months later; therefore it will be fine if, say, you
send me the artwork before {\it Juletiden}.

It is exciting for me to be receiving positive replies from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
% Jonah, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Lili Cassel Wronker
144-44 Village Road
Jamaica, NY 11435

\body

Dear Ms.~Wronker,

Thanks for your postcard of July 26. Please forgive my tardy reply, as I'm
out of the office this summer.

The idea of interlinear Hebrew and English sounds great!
My translation shifts the word `head' to the preceding clause,
to make for smoother English, but it generally follows the Hebrew
well enough to make interlinearization work.

If you have any other questions, I'll be in Boston until the end of
August; please call me at (617) 437-9871.

Incidentally, I found a nice photo of the `{\it qiqayon\/}' plant
in a beautiful series of books produced in Israel called
{\sl The Illustrated World of the Bible Library\/} (edited by
Avi-Yonah and Malamat), volume 3, page 254. The copying machine at
Boston Public Library isn't great, and I wasn't able to check this book
out in order to make a decent reproduction of the page, but perhaps
the enclosed copy gives enough of a hint about the full-color illustration
to give you the general idea of what plant might have been meant
in Jonah's story.

It is exciting for me to be receiving positive replies from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
% 1 Kings, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Hermann Bongard
17 Bjerk\aa sen
N-1310 Blommenholm, NORWAY

\body

Dear Mr.~Bongard,

{\it Tusen takk\/}
for your postcard of July 22! Please forgive my tardy reply, as I'm
out of the office this summer.

You asked about a deadline. It would be best for me if I could receive
your work by the middle of October, since that will help me to estimate the
cost of printing. However, if you cannot finish by that time, I must
confess that my own work on writing the book will not be complete
until several months later; therefore it will be fine if, say, you
send me the artwork before {\it Juletiden}.

It is exciting for me to be receiving positive replies from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
% Ephesians, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mrs.~Kerstin Anckers
Br\"annkyrkagatan 13
S-11720 Stockholm, SWEDEN

\body

Dear Mrs.~Anckers,

{\it Tusen takk\/}
for your postcard of July 14! Please forgive my tardy reply, as I'm
out of the office this summer.

You ask about original artwork versus a copy for reproduction.
I would much prefer the original art, for several reasons.
One is that Hermann and I got together a week ago and made plans for
a big ``poster'' that would contain all 60 examples of calligraphy,
reduced to about 2/3 of the size of the art in the book itself.
For this purpose it is best to make two stats from the original.
Secondly, I have gotten such enthusiastic response that I would like
the originals to be shown somewhere in the San Francisco area;
this may not work out, but I would not like to preclude the
possibility.

Therefore I hope you will be able to send me the originals. I will
reimburse you for expenses, and I'll return everything in due time.

It is exciting for me to be receiving positive replies from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
% 1 Peter, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Jos\'e Mendoza y Almeida
23 rue des Pommerets
F-92310 S\`evres, FRANCE

\body

Dear Mr.~Mendoza,

!`Thanks for your postcard of July 26!

I love {\it fran\c cais}, and I love {\it espa\~nol}, and I used to
collect French {\it timbres}. But alas, I am unable to write in any language
except English. My daughter is changing that; she is in France this summer,
to study french.

If you have trouble understanding my previous letter, please let me know,
and I will ask my daughter or one of my students to make a translation.
?`But surely you are just joking with me? The English on your 
card is perfect.

Incidentally, I will be making a brief trip to the Universit\'e de Paris-Sud
in Orsay, on October 27--29. If we need to discuss anything by telephone,
you could contact my host, Prof.~Ion Filotti, (6)\thinspace941.66.29.

It is exciting for me to be receiving positive replies from all over the
world. This book is turning out even better than I had dreamed it would!

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
% Ezra, continued
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Mr.~Jan Schalkwijk
Gaasterlandstrasse 96
Haarlem, NETHERLANDS

\body

Dear Mr.~Schalkwijk,

Thanks for your letter of July 20. I am sorry that you do not have time to
participate in my ``3\thinspace:\thinspace16'' project, but fortunately
Hermann gave me more than enough names and almost everyone else has been
able to help.

As you requested, I'm returning the photograph of {\it Onze Vader}.
It is very beautiful, but I cannot use it because of the special nature of
my book.

\closing
Cordially,
Donald E. Knuth
Professor

\annotations
DEK/dek

\endletter
\makelabel
\end
% temporary letter for revised text

\def\invite #1:#2\par#3\par{\message{#1:#2}\global\advance\count1 by 1
A month ago I wrote you a letter inviting you to contribute to my book
about the 3\thinspace:\thinspace16s of the Bible. Meanwhile I have
continued to write the book, and I discovered as I got to the chapter
on 1\thinspace Chronicles that my translation of that verse was not
the best way to put it in English.

Furthermore, I learned that my previous idea about including a list of the
Kings of Judah was not really very good, because it doesn't clarify the
most probable meaning of the verse after all. Therefore your job
becomes much, much  simpler!

I'm not sure whether you have aleady replied to my letter, since
mail takes awhile to travel overseas; and I'm not sure whether you
will want to participate in this project or not. But I am writing
to you now, so that you have the correct text for the illustration,
just in case you have already begun to work on this.

The new, improved material for 1\thinspace Chronicles appears
on the next page. Please use it instead of the text I sent in my
first letter, if you do decide to contribute to this unusual book.

Hermann visited me yesterday. We are both very happy that the
responses received so far have been overwhelmingly positive.
This should be an exciting book!

\nobreak\bigskip \leftskip=\longindentation Sincerely,
    \nobreak\bigskip\bigskip\bigskip % space for signature
Donald E. Knuth\hfil\break
Professor

\leftskip=0pt
\vfill\eject
\null\bigskip\hrule
\bigskip\bigskip
\line{\largebf #1\thinspace:\thinspace#2\hfil\largerm(special
translation for my book---corrected)}
\bigskip
{\baselineskip=14pt\bible#3\par}
\bigskip
As I said before,
please use your own judgment about how to interpret these words visually,
and how to arrange them on the page;
but I would like this specific wording and punctuation to be retained.
You may include the title of the verse, if it helps to balance your
composition, but it is not necessary to do this because the title will appear
in the caption. Please do not incorporate your own name as part of the artwork.

}
% 1 Chronicles
\deklet \vskip 30pt \address
Prof.~Werner Schneider
Am Langen Land, 2.
D-5928 Bad Laasphe, WEST GERMANY

\body

Dear Prof.~Schneider,

\invite 1 Chronicles 3:16

The descendants of Jehoiakim were:$
Jeconiah, his son; Zedekiah, his son.

[Also, please forget the suggestion in my previous letter about listing
the Kings of Judah. It is best to let this verse stand alone.]