William Steig's Caldecott Acceptance

If you follow my other blog of miscellany, Ten Thousand Places, then you should already know about the great blog Letters of Note.  Well, a couple of weeks ago they had a real treasure, that I want to share with all of you: a letter from William Steig upon receiving the Caldecott Medal for his now-classic Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.  This letter shows his great and candid fear, which makes his acceptance speech (much loved among the ALA community) all the more endearing:

May 10, ’70

Dear Mr. Heins,
Bob Kraus just read your letter to me (the one about my Caldecott acceptance speech) over the phone. I’m afraid now that in addition to having to make a speech, which for me will be like walking on red hot embers & broken glass, I will have the additional burden of feeling that my speech will leave people dissatisfied & make me seem both ungracious & ungrateful. I sincerely meant what I indicated in the opening of my speech: I would almost rather die than have to formally address a group of people larger than two in number. I’ve successfully avoided doing so for 50 years; I’ve been depressed ever since January & will not realize happiness again until after June 30th when my trial is over. I’ve told this to many people, but no one believes me & I feel like a character in a Kafka novel. Please believe me when I say that speaking only a few words will require a superhuman effort for me; that I can no longer, in my sixties, hope to change my character; that I am making this effort only out of genuine gratitude; and also because I worry about my publisher, who could be an innocent victim of my neurosis.
I want to make more books, books good enough to win prizes, & I’m hoping that my inability to make speeches will not hamper my progress.
Sincerely yours
William Steig

The acceptance speech is also posted on Letters of Note, so please check it out.