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The legendary author of The Catcher in the Rye is one of America's most notorious recluses. And if there's one thing Americans can't stand, it's an artist who conscientiously shuns the spotlight. Since the 1965 publication of "Hapworth 16, 1924" in The New Yorker, J.D. Salinger hasn't published a single word. As new generations of angst-filled adolescents are turned on to his works, the unanswerable questions continue. Why no more books? Why no interviews? Why has he gone into hiding? All these questions for Salinger, but how to ask him? To find a way to contact the author, we went straight to the J.D. Salinger category in the Yahoo! Directory. We scanned the sites and made our first stop at Letters to J.D. Salinger, a companion site to the book by the same name. The site is kind enough to provide a place for visitors to compose their very own letter to Salinger. Reading through the archive of submissions, it's easy to see that the author has touched people around
the world through his work. While posting your musings to the author on a web site may prove cathartic, it's not the same as putting pen to paper and mailing a personal missive directly to the man. Moving on, we stopped by A Brief Biography of J.D. Salinger, in hopes of locating a mailing address. The biography proved enlightening, and we recommend it for anyone interested in a quick primer on Salinger. About halfway down the page, we struck gold and located the pertinent postal information. The site provides his address in New Hampshire and instructions on how you can try to reach him. The information comes with a prominent disclaimer warning fans not to even bother
going to his residence, since the attempt will likely be unwelcome and bother other denizens of this remote area. If you decide you want to try your luck and send him a letter, the site offers four addresses where you may direct your thoughts. Although we did manage to locate his address, Salinger continues to hide in plain sight. Sadly, we may have to wait until he passes away to learn what this ghost of American literature has been doing for the past 30 years.
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