To Nora Drobyshev [Letter 571]

Nora Drobyshev was the younger of AR’s two sisters. Until Nora’s letter of March 1, 1973, AR had not heard from her sister since the late 1930s. The three letters to Nora in this collection were translated from AR’s heavily edited handwritten Russian drafts, except for material in italics, which had been handwritten in English.

Translation by Alex Sadovsky. This letter is four pages, but the translation did not note page breaks. There are two small handwritten notes by AR related to mailing the letter at the top and bottom of the first page, which are not included here.

May 5, 1973

Dear Nora!

I cannot express how glad I was to receive your letter. It was so unexpected that I laughed and cried and was very, very happy.

Thank you for not forgetting me. A long time has passed, but I was hoping that you would know or feel that I have not forgotten you and never will. I have always dreamt that I would see you some day.

Your letter was on its way for almost two months, but it reached us. I hope that my answer reaches you faster.

I won’t tell you all the details of my life. I will only say that I have achieved everything I wanted to achieve in my youth. Frank and I have been very happy all this time, as well as now.

I have not changed at all, except, of course, for having aged. But I feel like a young woman. I love everything and everyone I loved when I was twenty.

Dear, dear Norochka, I love you very much. Please write about yourself in detail. How is your husband, Fedya? It is somewhat difficult for me to write in Russian, so please forgive me if you find errors in this letter. I will learn to write more correctly. Passionate kisses—and Love from both of us to both of you. 

Alisa

My address:

Mrs. Frank O’Connor
120 East 34 Street, apt. 6g
New York, N.Y. 10016
U.S.A.