January 10, 1964

Miss Sallie Fleming
108-26 159th Street
Jamaica, New York

Dear Miss Fleming:

Because Mr. Hughes is currently
involved in rehearsals for his new song play
JERICO-JIM CROW, he has asked me to answer
your kind note.

Sorry that you missed TAMBOURINES
TO GLORY. It will probably not be done again
soon in the New York area. However, as you
will see from the enclosure, Mr. Hughes has
a charming new show on the Freedom Movement
which you might enjoy seeing.

With all best wishes.

ATLANTA UNIVERSITY
ATLANTA, GEORGIA

June 3, 1947

Mr. James W. Flemister
1710 Waseca Place
Chicago 43, Illinois

Dear Mr. Flemister;

Thank you very much for your kind letter of April 14. My duties as Visiting Professor of Creative Writing have kept me so busy here that I have not had a chance to get to my correspondence before now. But I was most interested in what you said in your letter to the black readers of America.

The reason I did not mention Africa in my column is that I rather took for granted that most of my readers would have thought of Africa. Also, since it is largely a colonial country and undeveloped industrially, I do not believe it offers as many opportunities to train people as some of the European or Asiatic countries do, or Latin America. In the past it has been very difficult for many Negroes to get into African colonies. However, I might take that matter up in a future column.

I shall be in Chicago on Sunday, June 8, for a program that the Skyloft Players are giving in my honor at 3 P. M. that afternoon at the Parkway Community Center. It is open to the public, and I will be happy to meet you if you are there.

I send all my good wishes to you.

LH:wmb

C—O—P—Y

From: Barthold Fles
Literary Agent
507 Fifth Avenue, New York 17 - Murray Hill 7-7248

To: Langston Hughes

November 6, 1952

Dear Mr. Hughes:

This is an invitation to participate in a juvenile series that I am preparing for publication for Simon & Schuster.

Under the general title of ROOTS IN AMERICA, the series will address itself to an audience of children from 9-11 years old. The heavily illustrated volumes will be about 30,000 words in length and will retail at $1.50. It is suggested that an advance of $1000 will be paid against a royalty of 7 1/3% of the retail price.

The basic idea is to tell the story of the contribution of each race or nationality to the country's growth. You are the logical person to write about the Negroes and what they have done to make this a better place to live in. Each book will consist of 15 chapters in chronological sequence. Each chapter will present an individual scene. There will be a great deal of dialogue (which children love) and plenty of color.

These books will be non-fiction—not little novels or collection of short stories, though they will be slightly fictionized and dramatized to match the desires of their young readers.

A German volume might start with a scene describing the first group of skilled artisans from the Palatinate. They landed, as did so many others, on the hospitable shores of Pennsylvania and drifted back country into the rolling hills of Lancaster and York counties. There were the men who made the famous "long rifles", which saved at least a remnant of Braddock's Army and kept the guard on the creeping fringes of frontier posts. Then we'd pick up on the Hessian veterans who settled here; the '48ers; etc., down to the latest wave of immigration—the Nazi refugees and the D.P.'s.

In view of the approach, which is that of intelligent patriotism, I hope you will give this idea serious consideration. I should add, please let me hear from you soon.

634 St. Nicholas Avenue,
New York, New York,
November 11, 1942.

Dear Fletcher,

I would be delighted to be your guest for the short time
that I shall be in Jefferson City. I shall arrive on the
Missouri River Eagle from St. Louis at 10:50 Thursday
morning and, unless there is another train on a line other
than the Missouri Pacific, shall have to leave at the un-
godly hour of 5 A.M. Friday in order to reach Indianapolis
for an engagement there Friday evening, as I have to be in
St. Louis by noon to catch a train out. Would you be so
kind as to inform Mr. Daniel of these arrangements.

I could meet with your class during the day on Thursday,
but please restrict it just to your class or those especially
interested in creative writing, since I shall be speaking to
the whole student body in the evening.

Thelma Berlack has asked me to have a meal with her. It could
be luncheon that day, if agreeable to her.

My publishers are sending ahead some books in case any would
like autographed copies. And I shall be seeing you-all next
week. Please give my best to Miss Teabeau and tell her I am
looking forward to seeing her.

%U.S.Embassy
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

December 12, 1949

Dear Langston:

This is a belated note to thank you for the copies of your books which you were kind enough to contribute to my school library through Gladys Graham.

I was unable to bring them with me as I made part of the journey by air but I shipped them along with other books. They have just arrived and make a welcome addition to our library. One of my English teachers is using "The Dream Keeper" in her upper classes which are studying poetry.

The United States Information Service has just opened an excellent library here in Addis. Your novel, "Not Without Laughter" is included in the very excellent selection of American fiction.

I was in America for three weeks in the late summer. I was in New York for a very short time and was very busy up to the day my boat sailed on September 20th. I was sorry that I did not get to see you.

I spent a week in Paris before flying back here the first week in October. I had not been in Paris for twenty years but found the city little changed. I hope to spend next summer there.

I know that you are busy but would like to hear from you when you can spare the time. I am reminded of you whenever I see the Crown Prince as the two of you look very much alike.

Again thanking you for your books, I am

20 E. 127 St. STREET
NEW YORK, N.Y. 10009

↑
Mr. Langston Hughes
to Belfred Li Knapp
501 Madison Avenue
New York, New York

September 23, 1950

Mr. Y. C. Fletcher
212 North Learey Street
Baltimore 23, Maryland

Dear Mr. Fletcher:

I understand all too well what you are up against in trying to publish your work. I had the same difficulty when I first started out. The only advice I can give to you is that which I give to the others who write me as you have done; keep sending your material to publishers, no matter how many rejection slips you get. If you can't sell the poems individually, collect them into one book and approach some of the publishers who publish poetry. Unfortunately I get a great many manuscripts from young writers who ask for criticism. But my schedule of work is so heavy that I seldom have time to read and criticize their work— as much as I would like to do, so.

Today I am preparing to leave for Washington, D.C., where my music drama, THE BARRIER, starring Laurence Tibbett and Muriel Rahn, opens at the Gayety Theatre on September 26th. It plays Washington for two weeks and then goes to Baltimore where it plays Lord's theatre which, unfortunately, I understand practices discrimination in its seating of theatregoers. Still perhaps you will want to come and see it. According to present plans, it should play there the week of October 9th.

I am sorry I can't be of more help to you. There is a good magazine called THE WRITER'S DIGEST, 22 East 12th Street, Cincinnati 10, Ohio which gives valuable market tips, advice on writing and so forth to aspiring poets and writers. I suggest you subscribe to it.

Thank you for writing to me anyway. I hope you'll have some luck in the future. Just keep trying. If you have anything worthwhile, sooner or later an editor will recognize it.

LH/NWV