I have not written much this last week,--too hot for one thing,--and then there are always people dropping in in the evening. But I am sending you a copy (to keep) of the last part of _The Bridge_ which is all that I have done so far, that is, in a lump.[30] You will remember enough of what I told you a long time ago about my general ideas and the plan of the entire poem to understand it fairly well anyway. It is sheer ecstasy here,--that is, all my friends who have seen it, say that. It was written verse by verse in the most tremendous emotional exaltations I have ever felt. I may change a few words in it here and there before the entire poem is finished, but there will be practically the same arrangement as what you see. If I only had more time away from office work I should have made much faster progress,--but I am perfectly sure that it will be finished within a year,--and as it is to be about four or five times as long as the enclosed fragment when it is complete,--I shall have been working about as fast on it as I have ever worked in the past. I am especially anxious to finish it, however, because than I shall have all my best things brought out in book form, and with a jacket or cover by Richard Rychtarik, I hope. Waldo Frank is anxious to introduce me to his publisher when the right time comes, and so there is no doubt but that the book will come out eventually. In the meantime there is a long essay that I hope to write on the photography of Alfred Stieglitz. I ought to have about two weeks for that _away from everything_, when I could shut myself up somewhere and not have my mind taken away from it for a moment. In it I shall have to go very deep,--into, perhaps, some of the most delicate problems of art in the future. You see, I too, have my moments of despair,--for there is so little time for me to think about such things. I am succeeding in my position with the advertising agency quite well,--but all that means _more_ work there, and even _less_ time for what I want to do. I am forced to be ambitious in two directions, you see, and in many ways it is like being put up on a cross and divided. I hope to succeed in them both,--the reasons you will easily understand. This last week I got promoted to the copy department, and on Tuesday night I shall take the train for Chicago. Business of the company, of course, which will keep me out of New York for probably about ten days or two weeks. Being with the largest advertising agency in the world is giving me fine experience that will get me higher-paid positions in other places after awhile. In many ways I have been very lucky to get placed so well at my age, so I complain about nothing except that I would like to have the days twice as long as they are--for all I want to do. --/--/ 150: TO ALFRED STIEGLITZ [_New York City_] _Aug 11th ’23_