Reviews

"When the two first met in November 1924, Carl Van Vechten was a socially adept, married, homosexual, 44-year-old white man. Langston Hughes was a poor, single, sexually ambiguous, talented but barely published 22-year-old black man. Their shifting relationship over the next four decades is embodied in this correspondence. The adroit selection of photographs-many by Van Vechten-and Emily Bernard's lucid, scrupulous annotation bring this rich period to life."
-Steven Watson, author of "The Harlem Renaissance "and "Prepare for Saints" "The friendship between Hughes and Van Vechten is surely one of the more inspiring in recent American history. Meeting in the 1920s as an aspiring young black poet and a celebrated white man of letters, they crossed almost every hurdle that an often disapproving society set before them. Sharp differences about art and politics, about money and the complexities of culture-these were never allowed to come decisively between them. They had in common an irrepressible love of life and art, an enduring sense of the value of friendship, and a delight in African American culture from top to bottom. These letters, superbly chosen, attest to the depth of their relationship, its sparkling optimism, its priceless sense of honor, and its determination to survive despite the expectations of a needlessly divided nation."
-Arnold Rampersad, author of "The Life of Langston Hughes "and co-editor of "The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes" ""Remember Me to Harlem" is not only a major contribution to our understanding of the Harlem Renaissance, it is a delightful collection of gossipy correspondence between two of its leading-and mostintriguing-characters."
-Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of "Wonders of the African World"