Arna Bontemps-Langston Hughes Letters, 1925-1967: Langston Hughes: Letters, 1925-1967

This is one of the most touching, endearing books I have ever been blessed to read. Think of it! For forty-two years Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes wrote letters to each other---literally thousands of letters. From 1925 to 1967, when Mr. Hughes passed away---a period of astounding historical events, during which they wrote. Both men were born in 1902, and met in Harlem in 1924 when attending a poetry reading of Countee Cullen's. They became friends immediately, soon collaborating on their first of several successful books written together. Within the pages of these letters is a treasure trove. The wealth of information is incredibile. We begin during the Harlem Renaissance...then the south and New York City during the Depression...from this, World War II, followed by the many events of the fifties and sixties. Throughout it all, the men are struggling both as writers, and as African Americans during a time of horrendous Jim Crow and lynching. But the horrors of such discriminations do not defeat them...with untold courage and dignity both writers plunge onward. By the time both men reached retirement age, they each had become so famous that universities were diligently seeking to obtain their letters! Charles Nichols who selected and edited their letters here, writes a wonderful introduction about the lives of both men. Aside from a really neat chronology following the letters, the whole of the book is dedicated to the letters. There is so much here, folks. This is one, very awesome book, and I highly recommend it to anyone.