“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Notes: Today Jane called Tam about the continuing hassles over the disclaimer for Mass Events, and learned several important things—among them that the legal department is now “drafting” a letter to us, explaining their position in the matter. Discussed also were the memos the legal department has been sending to the board of directors at Prentice-Hall. Many of these have been derogatory; we now plan to ask Tam for the names of the individual board members, and we want to learn how to write to them to be sure they personally receive our messages. We would like to eventually tell our side of the story, and resent being treated like children in the interim. According to Tam, we’re not supposed to know anything about much of what he’s been telling us of the fuss over the disclaimer.

(All of this began when at break this morning I asked Jane is she knew her true feelings about the Mass Events affair. We had a long discussion—which helped, finally, clarify many things for us. I started it because of a couple of questions I had about our relationship with Prentice-Hall. Both of us are in conflict between getting the Seth books out, not caring about any disclaimer, and on the other hand saying no to the disclaimer and letting the chips fall where they may, to coin a phrase. Of course, we don’t want to get sued, as the legal department fears we might. I personally resent a great deal the poor connotations that now have attached themselves to Mass Events; if the material has any validity, this has happened, and would be picked up by readers, even if counterbalanced by other good feelings. The fact that such ideas do not occur to entities like the legal—or even the editorial—departments at Prentice-Hall shows, I think, the great gap that exists between our own views of life and theirs. It’s wider than I thought.

(I suppose we don’t know what our response to the legal department missive will be. My best guess at the moment is that the disclaimer matters not at all, but the idea of it doesn’t bode well for the future, I’m afraid, and there may be the real rub. Jane has God of Jane and her book of poetry well in the works now, and both involve Mass Events, or material in it. We want those books published. A cutoff point is reached after these three books have been taken care of; then we would be free to try something else if we choose to.

[...] Jane had been tempted to pass up the session and continue work on God of Jane, but I reminded her that I could use Seth’s information on the disclaimer in our reply to the legal department at Prentice-Hall. We knew by now that we were resigned to having the disclaimer inserted into Mass Events, but we wanted to have our say—partially out of anger and partially out of self-protection, since we didn’t believe all the legal department had told us; we wanted them to know we understood the subterfuges involved.

[...] We’d received a formal letter about that from the legal department of Prentice-Hall last Friday; today Jane had been “picking up” on it. [...]

[...] That means that we have made inroads, that we are reaching people, and that even the Prentice legal department is aware of our readership. [...]

Our books are in the regular trade department. This poses some problems for the legal department, which is given to the most literal translation of reality as interpreted through law. [...]

The legal department knows how to deal with the Parker books. [...] If Prentice were as conventional at heart as its legal department, it would not publish books at all, except perhaps for the textbooks.

[...] There will be some changes in the business department and, I believe, in advertising. Also one particular change in the editorial department. [...]

[...] There may be a definite change to another department on her (Eve’s) part, and this would represent a slight advancement—a half step, but a good one.

There will also be changes in any case in her department, if probabilities continue as I see them now. [...]

[...] The new department or her position would build upon her present knowledge and duties; that is, the knowledge would be of definite value to her, but the main emphasis of her duties would lie elsewhere. [...]

There will be several major breakthroughs in that department. [...]

[...] It seems that her department and Dr. Rhine’s are somehow linked at Duke, and that his incoming mail goes through her department. [...] The lady told Peg and Bill a good deal about the workings of Dr. Rhine’s department; and how, now that he is past 70, the mandatory college retirement age, arrangements have been made for him to continue his work in parapsychology through a foundation which is apparently connected to or with the college.

She thinks it far more laudable that you work in an art department with steady wages, and you know this. [...]

(I told her about my morning’s activities—going to see Pete Harpending, decisions to ask Steve and Tracy for money, the $10,000 I gave the billing department of the hospital this noon on my way to room 330. [...]

^* Hydro, as staff members call it, is short for the hospital’s hydrotherapy department. [...]

[...] Without being specific, I said that generally she was doing better in all departments. [...]

[...] You would be led to make proper suggestions, for example, ahead of time, or the creative process of someone in the art department would suddenly be stimulated to a new idea, or whatever. [...]

(“Thank you,” I said to the departed Seth.

[...] Fortunately we got what we’d ordered yesterday, although dietary had lost our menus, Mrs. Misnick, from that department, told us. [...]

[...] There have been changes at my place of employment, due to the retirement of management, the consolidation of some departments and the elimination of others, etc.)

[...] Not one that will take him from the firm, but one which might take him further, in some way, from his immediate department, while he still remains connected with it.

[...] Our department was recently moved but there has been no change in personnel. [...]

[...] A department initiated by you, and a relatively new service in this area—I believe it has been adopted and sometimes discarded in other areas—but it is not an ordinary issue, and it is something that you have considered yourself in the past, though not seriously.

[...] In one way it could be called an offshoot from another department, but it is too novel to be so described. [...]

[...] As Bill Gallagher walked down the hall away from us upon departing, I saw that he wore a long black coat with I believe a hood upon it—a garment quite like that he wore in the vision, and one I possessed no special knowledge of in his wardrobe.

(This morning at about 11:15 I got a call from a girl in the billing department at the hospital. [...]

[...] The publicity department at Prentice-Hall told Jane last week that this program was thinking of asking us to be on the show, and that possibly we’d be contacted this week.

(Today I mailed to those in command at Prentice-Hall eight copies of our letter to the legal department, in response to their letter of November 24 explaining the disclaimer they want to use in Mass Events. [...]

[...] Bill went upstairs to talk to the men in the Ad department. [...]

[...] He said that the term sig is always used in the ads, and is part of the language of the ad department. [...]