Spencer Heath Archive

Item 2941

Typed form letter from John L. Davis, Office of the President, Chapman College, Orange, California to Mr./Mrs. Irvan O’Connell, 217 South Main, Winchester, Virginia, announcing Heath’s forthcoming talks at the College.

March 11, 1961

Dear Mr. and Mrs. O’Connell:

Spencer Heath’s Citadel, Market and Altar has stimulated thought and excited comment throughout Europe and America. Roscoe Pound called it “a book of the first importance,” and thinkers as diverse as E. Merrill Root, Ruth M. Under­hill and William Ernest Hocking have testified to its impact.

      Mr. Heath’s mind and brilliant thought belie his 85 years, and those who know the incisive imagery of his conversation, sparkling wit and keen powers of analysis have lamented the fact that time will destroy so much which his book does not preserve. His grandson, Spencer Heath MacCallum, has been especially concerned with “drawing another book” out of his grandfather (who loves conver­sation and lecturing but hates writing), and we are inviting you to participate in a project which we believe will produce another book of real significance for our free social order.

      In the guest dining room of the College on March 16, March 23 and April 6, we invite you and others whom you may nominate to share in a seminar on “Economics and the Spiritual Life of Free Men.” Each session will begin promptly at 4:30 p.m. We will have a forty minute lecture by Mr. Heath, followed by twenty minutes of discussion. After a brief free period, dinner will be served at 6 o’clock, followed by another lecture and discussion period of the same length. Each meeting will adjourn promptly at 8:00 p.m.

      Through sound equipment which Radio Station KWIZ will supply, Mr. Heath’s lec­tures will be recorded, and Spencer Heath MacCallum will edit these materials during the summer months. The book should, therefore, appear in the fall of 1961. Topics to be discussed will include: The Free Community; Property and Its Productive Administration; Society, the Crown of Creation; The Hidden Christ in the Organic Community; etc.

      We enclose a card for your use in making a reservation. The room will accommo­date only 60 persons, and we will accept reservations on a first-come, first-served basis. The $6.00 fee, of course, simply reimburses the College for meals and necessary expense. Mr. Heath is providing for all other expenses of the seminar and will underwrite publication of the book.

Sincerely yours,

JLD/mr                       John L. Da