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etdiaien ck iehctiantiaateiatanomenaedieeiemmrtetittedtioed 2 SO NORE ANTS TR FART OO ET SREY NOT ee PEE HRN ee NII FEE mE ON IRAE ne ema Pre eee er F ccee ae RDNA EPIC SACRE te Foe ms nem tem we HO KELLER, HELEN -Continned 2557 sin iad Inca repaid for. some of facie te udterest people in the handi- capped: thirty states had established commis- signs for the blind since the day) she lad served on the first one in) Massachusetts, and more than half of the Helen Keller Endow- ment Fund had been raised. Still she continued to give unreservedly of her time to complete this fimd. helping: the cause by appearing be- lore legisiatnres, by giving lectures, “and above all, by her own shining example of what might) be accomplished in’ spite of severe difficulties.” In Let Os Have Faith (1940) she herself restates “the ultimate ability of man tv conqucr despair and tyranny.” A. F. Gilmore of the Christian Science Monitor re- ferred to the book as “a beautiful message... attractively presented.” Miss Keller and) Polly “Thomson finally setted in’ Westport, Connecticut, where they live in a white frame house. Helen Keller's cherished plan to write her teacher's biography was interrupted by the outhreak af the Second World War, when she decided to devote most of her time to the help of the war-blinded, Her spare time is taken up by answering the tremendous number of Jetters that) friends, acquaintances, and poor and sick people send her. As a counselor on national and inter- national relations for the American Foundation for the Blind she actively participates in’ the Foundation work and otherwise contributes to the improvement af conditions among the handicapped, She ¢ontributes also to many socially-minded causes, and her name fre- quently graces the Ictterheads of liberal polit- ical and economic organizations. As ber favorite reercation Helen Keller plays with her dogs and works in her garden, CAs a young girl she used to go horseback riding, sailing, and bicycling, and while she get scratched on walks through the under- brush, she would never admit: she was hurt and cerlainly would not) stay heme the nest time.) Music plays an important role in her life. Phe vibrations penetrate through the Noor and the furniture, and by touching these —or the singer's throat—she can feel the rhythm and the spirit. of the music. Once when she attended a concert of the NBC Sym- phony Orchestra with Toscanini"? conducting, the ideal radio transmission—i. ¢., absence of all vibration—nearly caused an impasse. Buta special wooden platform, placed underneath her chair, finally assured her of “hearing.” Helen Keller is interested in every conversa- tion that takes place around her. Her constant question, “What are you talking about ?”, keeps her informed about events, She hears by means of holding her fingers on the speaker's fips or by manual alphabet translation. Mast of her direct: knowledge comes from her ‘sense of touch which is, however, not so finely de- veloped as in some other blind people. In her literary work she uses the Braille typewriter first, then copies the manuscript on an ordi- nary typewriter. Her sense of smell is very oh he o osba - CURRENT BIOGRAPHY ‘Sey ise Ag facute, She can orient: herself by the sill of perfumes, powder, open fires, paint, and many other animate er inanimate, objects and could casily pass as an aromatic specialist. Her speech is casily understood by her intimate friends, who are used toi, Dit still: prestnts difficulties to those who hear her for the first Enthusiastic and indefatigable, Helen Keller has not only traveled in this country but alse in the Orient and in Europe. In recoxmuten of the stimulation her example and presence had given the Yugoslavians to work for their blind, King Alexander in 193] awarded. het the St. Sava Order. Temple University, Phil- adelphia, honored her that same year with the degree of Doctor of Hinmane Letters, and the University of Glasgow in 1932 with that of Doctor of Law. Jn 1936) she and Anne Sullivan Macy were awarded the Roosevelt Medal for “Cooperati Achievement of Unique Character and) Far-reaching Signif- icance.” Among the magazines to which she has contributed are the Century Magazine, Youth's Companion, MeChure’s Magazine, and eltlantic Monthly. Friends have described Helen Keller as a “gracious, compassionate woman, of singular intellectual attainments and compelling per- sonal charm.” Her sparkling sense of humor, her vitality, and ber warm and cager_hand- clasp have won her friends wherever she has heen. She is tall and has always been in guod health. There is nothing mysterious about her achievements. All she is and has done can he explained directly, and there is little she loathes more than a person's reference to a “sixth sense.” Ver well known optimism and idealistic outlook on life are best expressed in her own words: “My life has been happy because T have had wonderful friends and plenty of interesting work to do. Fb seldom think about my limitations, and they never make ime sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times, but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers. The wind: passes. and the Nowers are content.” References Etude 60:7-8+ Ja ‘42 por NY Times VUE pll+ Je 23 “40 New Yorker 5:24-6 Ja 25 "30 Survey G25 :324-54 My ‘30 por Antrica’s Twelve Great Women Lead- ers during the Past) Hundred Years p3i-33 1933 - ; Bartlett, R. M. They Dared to Live p76-R0 1937 Keller, H. A. Journal 1938 Keller, H. AJ Let Us Have Faith 1940 Keller, Th AL Midstream: My Latter Life 1920 Keller, IL AL Story of My Life 100s Keller, PL AL World 1 Live Tn 1908 Reader's Digest’ Reader py3-5, 212-15 1940 Waxman, S. Mo ed. Nomads and Lis- teners p150-52 1937 Who's ‘Who in America 1942-43