STAND-UP LADY

LETTERS

Amy Schumer and Annie Leibovitz prove a winning combination; remembering Jackie and Lee; readers underscore the importance of studying the fine print

I greatly enjoyed Annie Leibovitz's cover photo of Amy Schumer [May]. It reminded me of the bril_B_liant photos by Edward Steichen for V.F. during the late 1920s, those photographs of Ruby Keeler, Mary Eaton, and Joan Bennett. Like these women, Schumer brought an elegant and graceful beauty to your cover. To me, Leibovitz and Schumer's will go down as one of the greatest in KF's collection.

SCOTT WAGAR

Bottineau, North Dakota

"Without question, the "Fire Down Below" photo of Amy in the "NO COFFEE, NO WORKEE" T-shirt should have been the cover. Thanks to Bruce Handy for the terrific article ["Bombshell Blonde," May] and to Annie Leibovitz for the equally terrific photos. It's great to see Amy get the kudos she deserves.

CLAUDIA PEARCE

Claremont, California

MIRROR, MIRROR

I first encountered Mrs. Radziwill and I Mrs. Onassis at the private home of a newspaper publisher on Fifth Avenue while working a fund-raising event for PBS ["A Delicate Balance," by Sam Kashner, May], On this evening I was not prepared for the entrance of "the sisters." The doors opened and there they were, arm in arm. I may have even gasped!

After that, I would encounter Mrs. Radziwill a number of times, at the home of Brooke Hayward and Peter Duchin, an extraordinary Moroccan-motif loft on lower Park Avenue. I was the bartender at their "salons." The creme de la creme of society meets New York City Bohemia ... cafe society at its best!

I always looked forward to making Mrs. RadziwilTs drinks and lighting her cigarettes, a kind of ritualistic intimacy shared by bartender and guests. She would station herself in front of the bar, and the other guests would always come to her.

Once, as she stood in silence at the bar, I allowed my mind to wander to the unthinkable: all of the tragedy that had visited this very fragile, very chic woman. I was afraid that my composure was slipping away. I immediately pulled myself together.

Never again would I "go there" in my mind when in the presence of this particular family.

JOHN HARRISON

Palm Coast, Florida

Lee Radziwill is a beautiful woman indeed. To lose a child to cancer, at _J any age, is a tragedy. I was, however, extremely disappointed at the assertions that she was prettier than Jackie, better than Jackie, and so on. The fact is the rivalry between sisters is a game that plays out in every family. In the end, they will be remembered as two beautiful sisters who led different lives, but, boy, did they live!

On a separate note, Mr. Carter, I was guilty of zooming right to your Editor's Letter to see what thou had to say about Donald J. Trump, only to be disappointed. Then I closed the magazine and noticed the little surprise [on the cover]... you arc a sly cat! I do believe Mi-. Trump is losing—big! huge!— when it comes to his opinion of Vanity Fair.

DEE ANN MACBRIDE

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

"@VanityFair Magazine is doing really poorly. It has gotten worse and worse over the years, and has lost almost all of it's [sic] former allure!" -DONALD J. TRUMP

TWEETLE DUMB

During my 20 years as a superiorcourt judge, I used the editorial "v/c" only when I felt it truly necessary. It assures the reader that you have not misquoted the moron quoted, nor arc you also a moron. I laughed when I spotted the Donald Trump quote on the cover of your May issue. It was a classy, unassailable put-down.

WILLIAM P. SARGEANT III

Phoenix, Arizona

The first thing I look for on every V.F. cover is the lovely bon mot in di_l_ minutive font size that either overtly or subtly relates to the theme of the issue. I literally shrieked with glee at the reprinted Trump tweet, where he handily outs his ignorance with a seventh-grade misspelling. That there was hardly a mention of Trump inside the issue only enhances the elegance of the self-skewering.

BARBARA BERGEN

Nelson, British Columbia

I completely disagree with Donald Trump's I uninformed assessment of Vanity Fair. _l_ Then again, I don't drink Trump wine, eat Trump steak, or attend Trump University.

LINDA PALMER SULLIVAN

Naples, Florida

When I received my May issue, I immediately noticed the comment on the cover about how poorly V.F. is doing, per Donald Trump. I've renewed my subscription to your magazine for two more years. If the Donald doesn't like you, you're doing something right!

CYNTHIA JUTZIN

Buffalo, New York

Letters to the editor should be sent electronically with the writer's name, address, and daytime phone number to letters@vf.com. All requests for back issues should be sent to subscriptions@vf.com. All other queries should be sent to vfmail@vf.com. The magazine reserves the right to edit submissions, which may be published or otherwise used in any medium. All submissions become the property of Vanity Fair.

More from the V.F. MAILBAG

"I am not a reader of your magazine, nor do I ever intend to be." Huh. What is this all about? Here's an angry letter from someone who doesn't read the magazine and who isn't threatening to cancel a subscription or even take one out just to cancel it. What have we done to offend with such impressive reach?

Ah. We published a timely review of a Game of Thronesepisode on VF.com that was perhaps a little too timely. Sorry, DVR enthusiasts.

In the interest of getting it right this time, here's a SPOILER ALERT: Irate readers ahead. Don't read past this point if that's a problem for you. And don't say you weren't warned.

"Until a few minutes ago I was following Vanity Fair on Facebook," writes Lauren Hauberg, of Mount Vernon, Ohio. "Due to a major Game of Thrones spoiler in a photo and headline, I was forced to un-like and un-follow." Ouch. "You have ruined my evening for no good reason. I hope your publication rots in hell. Sincerely, Darwin." Yikes. And so on, with sundry allusions to "jerk writers" and "irresponsible" title choices and worse. Maybe we can lighten things up with a random selection from our stack of Trump letters?

Ah, here we go. A "retiree in Lake Havasu City" writes, "Let's all get together and inundate Trump with cans of Vienna sausages!" Urn, sure, let's.