To A. N. Pleshcheyev, 7 March 1889. Moscow.

1 Written from Moscow on 7 March 1889 to the poet and editor Alexei Nikolayevich Pleshcheyev, a warm, personal letter catching up after a gap in their correspondence: news of Chekhov’s daily life, the continuing fallout from the success of his play "Ivanov," his current writing plans, and family greetings, closing with a wry note about a old schoolmate’s poetic ambitions.

2 Chekhov opens by remarking how long it has been since he wrote or heard from Pleshcheyev and asks after his health and news (3), then describes his own uneventful life, impatience for spring, and the money he is spending from "Ivanov" (4). Still on the subject of "Ivanov," he reports that copies are being requested from Rassokhin’s library from the provinces and from private individuals, but the printer Demakov has not yet sent him the offprints, and asks Pleshcheyev to prod Demakov if he happens to see him (5). He describes his current work – one story sent to Suvorin, another being polished, a novel planned for the summer that he intends, in his heart if not yet in print, to dedicate to Pleshcheyev (6) – and declares he will give up playwriting for the season in favor of prose, aside from small pieces written purely for money (7). He passes on family greetings, including his sister’s invitation to Pleshcheyev’s companion Elena Alexeyevna to join them for the summer at Luka, promising music to keep things lively (8), closes with a blessing and his signature (9-10), and adds a postscript about a former schoolmate, P. A. Sergeyenko, who has sent him verses to pass along to "Severny Vestnik" – which Chekhov says he is doing, though he has already told the author to expect complete failure (11).