On this day in 1950, J. D. Salinger's "For Esme -- With Love and Squalor" was published in The New Yorker. Though still fifteen months away from the fame of The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger had many stories published in the high-circulation magazines at this point, and had drawn increasing attention from critics, fans and even Hollywood. The publication of "Esme" would accelerate this process, Salinger saying that his story of Sergeant X, on his way to war and crack-up, and Esme, well on her way to adulthood, brought more mail in two weeks than anything else he'd written. This is the moment of their last words, Esme reminding the Sergeant that he has promised her a story ... FULL STORY »
