Robert Frost Declares Himself a "Balfour Israelite" and Discusses His Trip to the Western Wall

Whether this address, or statement, was made after Frost’s 1961 visit to Israel is not clear; what is patent, however, is his strong sense of identification with, and friendship for, the “brave… little” nation. “I have been a Balfour Israelite from aforetime,” he says, “and was recently romantically confirmed in my politics when I stood face to face with Nehemiah the Restorer [Nehemiah, the restorer of the wall in Jerusalem] in person by the great stones in situ… of the wall he restored three thousand years ago in defiance of Sanballat.” Frost continues that Nehemiah’s story is one of the most stirring stories of the Bible and  one children are not apt to hear enough of; he suggests, in repayment for the honor being paid him, he may be allowed to guide those responsible for it, to the reading of that wonderful story.

Autograph Manuscript Signed, 1 page, quarto, The Jefferson Hotel, 1200 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washington, no date.