Letter to Donald Meltzer

In this letter Winnicott discusses Melzer’s BPAS presentation of the previous night. Winnicott maintains that it is only possible to make long interpretations as Meltzer reported under special circumstances, and when the patient has a high I.Q., and that it is unfortunate that his presentation implied that Kleinians talk more than do their patients. Winnicott noted that one-third of the Society was not present at Meltzer’s presentation, claiming that B groupers stayed away because they would be listening to ‘a foreign language’. Winnicott expresses his hopes that those who report this kind of paper will do so in a way acceptable to the Society as a whole.