Quentin Crisp had an e-mail address. Phillip Ward maintained it for him on AOL, where Mr. Crisp offered response to many posts which he received each week by the hundreds!
There were laudatory messages. There were confrontational, derogatory, or totally unpleasant ones. But many thanked him for having the courage for being himself, which in turn provided them a way of expressing their own courage at being who they are. Overall, though, most postings were very positive.
Mr. Ward would print out e-mails for Mr. Crisp to read and write a personal response, or Mr. Ward would read the e-mails to him — all the while clicking away at the Demon Machine’s keyboard typing Mr. Crisp's spontaneous response.
Because of the volume of e-mails Quentin Crisp received weekly, and in true Dickinsonian fashion, he decided to compose his very own "My Letter To The World".
