The following is a short correspondence between Phillip Keeney and Harry Partch, when Phil was a young man in the early 1970's. At the end of this correspondence Phil moved to San Diego to work with/for Harry, which he did until Harry passed away in late 1974, Still a San Diego resident, Phil was a valued performer in numerous Partch productions during the years 1974-1984, and has graciously allowed us to share this correspondence with our readership.

What follows are not scholarly documents leading to profound intonational or historical discoveries; rather, these letters bring to light some of Harry's feelings during the last year of his life, and offer a glimpse of him that reminds me of his dark days, his not infrequent optimism and the ever-present warm concern for his friends, new and old. The following typographic conventions have been used to give, short of reproducing the letters as graphics files, a sense of their layout:

This font is used for typewritten text.
This font is used for handwritten text.
This font is used for editorial asides.

Of course, my thanks to Phil for sharing these personal momentos with us -- JMS

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