Salinger's private letters to be made public

Feb 12, 2010, 14:11 GMT

New York - The literary world has waited decades for a look inside the private life of the notoriously reclusive author JD Salinger and will soon get the chance after last month's death of the author of The Catcher in the Rye.

Eleven letters written by Salinger from 1951-93 are to be made public at New York's Morgan Library, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The letters from Salinger to his former neighbour, the artist Michael Mitchell, in Westport, Connecticut, reveal private details such as the author's joy in riding the New York subway even into his 60s, but also show how the city he showed through the eyes of Catcher's hero Holden Caulfield became more and more foreign to him as he withdrew from the world.

Salinger addresses Mitchell as Buddyroo, a term also used by Caulfield in the novel, and calls him one of his closest friends.

The Morgan Library received the letters in 1998 but kept them under lock and key - even from staff members - until Salinger's death. It is now preparing an exhibit of the letters, the Times reported.

Salinger was well known for his efforts to preserve his privacy and did everything possible to keep his letters from becoming public.

The glimpse into his everyday life may also give hope to fans looking for unpublished works. In a letter from 1966, Salinger writes of two scripts that he has been working on for years.