p0584_05434

Hamline University
St. Paul, Minnesota
January 11, 1922

Professor O.E. Rølvaag
St. Olaf College
Northfield, Minnesota

Dear Professor Rølvaag:

I thank you for the copy of your Norsk Laesebok, Bind II, which
I found in my mail this morning. I have already devoted a couple of
hours to the book and on the basis of my examination of the selections
which you have included I wish to offer you my congratulations. To
prepare a book of this type is no easy task. The problem of selection
must indeed be a very difficult one, particularly because, as you
point out in your preface, there is a dearth of the kind of materials
suitable for your purpose. Yet on the whole I think you have done
very well. Your selections cover a wide range, they are exceedingly
interesting, and in their arrangement you have shown skill. I hope
the book will prove as popular as it deserves to be. I was glad
to find that you had included a selection from Mrs. Koren's "Fra
Pionertiden" a little book which I regard as one of the literary and
historical jewels of our Norwegian American literature. You do not
need to apologize for the inclusion of the selections from your own
writings. They are among the most interesting and valuable in the
whole book. You have a rare gift for visualizing and presenting
in splendid fashion the homely but interesting and important phases
of Norwegian American life.

I am familiar with your book "Amerika Breve," and regard it
as one of our best Norwegian American works. For some time I have
been wondering whether it would not be worth while to publish a