African-American poet and recently crewman on the S. S. Malone, Langston Hughes, 23, arrived in Paris back in February with just $7 in his pocket, but hopeful to find adventure in the city he has heard so much about.
Langston Hughes
Hughes spent the first month sharing a crappy hotel room in Montmartre with a Russian dancer, with nothing left over to buy food. He became so desperate he even contacted his mother back in the States for money. She told him that his stepfather is really sick and she has no money for food either.
When he finally got a job as a bouncer at a club over on rue Fontaine, paying 5Fr—about 25 cents—per night, he thought his fortunes had changed.
Then he had to break up a fight between two women attacking each other with broken bottles and decided that this is not the career path he had in mind.
Now Langston has rented this little attic room and landed a respectable and safe job at the newly reopened jazz and soul food club Le Grand Duc, just a 15-minute walk away on rue Pigalle—He’s a dishwasher!
Rue Nollet
Langston has made friends with one of the entertainers at the club, Ada Smith, 29, a cigar-smoking African-American redhead whom everyone calls Bricktop. Hughes feels as though he’s finally settling into Paris life.
Mark your calendar! The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books returns to the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Highland Park on Saturday, May 11. Stop by the “Such Friends” booth in Writers’ Row.
This summer I will be talking about the literary 1920s in Paris and New York at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie-Mellon University.
Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, is also available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk in both print and e-book versions.
We interrupt our chronicling of what was happening 100 years ago in the literary and artistic worlds to bring you an update on activities here in “Such Friends” central.
Thanks to such-a-friend Arlan Hess, owner of City Books Pittsburgh, Gertrude Stein finally had her day in the town where she was born. On Saturday, February 3rd, City Books and the nearby Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation hosted a 150th birthday party for Gertrude.
Your blog host at Gertrude Stein’s house
Proclamations from the County, the City and the office of Mayor Ed Gainey were issued and suitably proclaimed. (All these great photos of Gertrude Stein Day are by Lauryn Halahurich/Those in Motion.)
Proclaimers with proclamations
Three different groups of ardent fans joined me to walk around the corner to the Stein family home, at 842 Beech Avenue (there’s a plaque), and hear me pontificate about Stein’s six-month stay in Allegheny, PA, which is now part of Pittsburgh.
Your blog host pontificating to ardent fans
Back in the shop, we all enjoyed rose-covered petit fours and rose-colored macaroons.
Thank you, Arlan!
Masked shop owner Arlan Hess with your masked blog host
Of course, I was happy to sign copies of all four volumes of “Such Friends”: The Literary 1920s, covering 1920 through 1923. There are still some signed copies available at City Books. Stop by Galveston Avenue and say hi to Arlan!
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In addition, testimonials keep pouring in from friends and strangers alike about how much they enjoy all four volumes of the “Such Friends” series. (If they are not available in your local bookstore, tell them to contact me at kaydee@gypsyteacher.com. We’ll make them available.)
A judge in the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Competition, ranking Volume I “exemplary” in four categories, commented,
delightful, quick read…several great stories about Black artists like [Langston] Hughes and [Paul] Robeson…I enjoyed working my way through the year with these writers and other artists…The historical and cultural context (“Pinkolic Soap” advertisement) add a lot of color. The formatting of the text and layout of the pages are extremely effective…I enjoyed the many photographs and other historical documents.”
The extremely effective text and layout of “Such Friends”: The Literary 1920s
Scott, an Ernest Hemingway fan says,
Love the whole concept of your project, capturing and chronicling the 1920s literary scene. Again, job well done!”
a fascinating insight into connections between figures in the literary world of the very early 1920s. I look forward to ordering more!…PS I love the way you state the age of all individuals, as knowing how old significant people were at various stages in their professional and private lives provides important context for me. Thank you!”
excellent job!…I’ve been saving the book for a winter day, and we’ve had that, so took advantage of gray cool weather & warm pups. Didn’t gulp it down; savored it like…good popcorn. with maybe a cold beer.”
And Julian, former grad student fan, says
an amazing literary chronicle with a surprise historical treat around every corner.’
So get your copies of all four volumes of “Such Friends”: The Literary 1920s from your local bookstore now, or break down and order from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
First four volumes of “Such Friends”: The Literary 1920s
P. S. “Such Friends”: The Literary 1920s, Volume V—1924, is written and in production. We’re halfway through the decade!
Later this month I will be talking about early 20th century supporters of the arts like the Stein family at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie-Mellon University.
Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins’ relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe is also available Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk in both print and e-book versions.
In one of her two Harlem townhouses, A’Lelia Walker, 38, is throwing another fabulous party.
West 136th Street, Harlem
As the president of the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Co. since her mother’s death four years ago, A’Lelia’s is known for the legendary salons she hosts, with her attention to detail over every aspect of the festivities. The fold-out invitation for this dinner reads on the cover “Merrie Christmas” in an elegant typeface, and inside,
May your lives be filled with music.”
The menu includes venison, bacon and filet mignon.
In addition to presiding over a terrifically entertaining evening, wearing a turban that makes her appear taller, A’leila also makes a point of showcasing African-American talent with quotations of poetry by her friend Langston Hughes, 22, on the walls, and books by black authors displayed in a special cabinet.
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Downtown, in the theater district, the hit playwrights Marc Connelly, just turned 33, and George S Kaufman, 34, are presiding over one of their few flops to date. The musical Helen of Troy, New York just closed at the Times Square Theatre after fewer than 200 performances.
A few blocks away, at the Garrick Theatre on West 35th Street, Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, 67, is having a big success with his Saint Joan, starring Winifred Lenihan, 25. Truth be told, the idea for this play came from Shaw’s wife, Charlotte, 66.
Garrick Theatre, 67 West 35th Street, Theatre District
Over on Fifth Avenue, in his office in the Scribner’s building, editor Max Perkins, 39, is packing up some manuscripts to take with him on his annual family holiday in Windsor, Vermont.
Max has spent this fall tracking down stories and essays by his newest author, Ring Lardner, 38. His work has appeared in magazines and newspapers all over the country, but Ring never kept track of where.
Now that Max has pulled them all together for a collection he’s calling How to Write Short Stories, Perkins is so enthusiastic for the project that he pushed it through the Scribner’s editorial board meeting before he even got official approval from Ring.
But all this activity has made Perkins realize how much his duties have increased in the past few years. Scribner’s is getting on average 500 more manuscripts a year than they did before the Great War. After the holiday, he’s going to ask president Charles “Old CS” Scribner, 69, to get him more help. Max will make the case that his time is best spent seeking out and nurturing new talent.
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Perkins’ top novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 27, is hosting a dinner party in the city this Christmastime. He and his wife Zelda, 23, are planning to move to Paris next year, with their two-year-old daughter Scottie. They have invited some of their literary friends who have just spent time in Paris to pass on personal contacts and tips about where to live. Included are novelist John Dos Passos, 27, as well as Gilbert Seldes, 30, and Edmund “Bunny” Wilson, 28, both with The Dial magazine.
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Down in Greenwich Village, “Bunny” has paid a visit to the small home of his former lover, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, 31.
Ten months ago, Wilson married actress Mary Blair, 28, who gave birth to their daughter three months ago. (You do the math.) Mary has already packed the infant off to Edmund’s Mom in Red Bank, New Jersey, so she can get back to her acting career with the Provincetown Playhouse.
Mary Blair
Millay also married earlier this year but recently sent Wilson a passionate letter apologizing for her behavior when she dumped him. Edna entreated Edmund to come visit her by offering him cigarettes and a rosy apple; Wilson has given in.
This brick house is so tiny, only 8.5 ft. wide by 35 feet deep, that its three stories have no rooms, just open areas with a staircase in the middle. The top floor is a well-lit studio, and Edmund finds Edna there, drinking gin and reading poetry. As they chat, he gets the feeling that she is trying to convince him that she’s happily married. But as Wilson leaves he runs into her husband, wealthy Dutch businessman Eugen Jan Boissevain, 43. Their brief encounter confirms for Wilson that Eugen is just another boring international corporate guy. And Edna is a princess in a tower who doesn’t realize that she is behind bars.
Early in the new year I will be talking about the literary summer of 1923 at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, and early 20th century patrons of the arts in the Osher program at Carnegie-Mellon University.
Manager as Muse, about Perkins’ relationships with Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, is also available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk in both print and e-book versions.
Langston Hughes, 19, freshly graduated from Central High School in Cleveland, Ohio, has finished his dinner and is back in the Pullman car, looking out the window at the sunset over the mighty Mississippi.
Langston Hughes (far left) with high school friends
On his way to visit his father in Toluca, Mexico—again—he is trying to figure out how to convince his dad to send him to Columbia University. Dad is willing to fund college if Langston goes abroad and studies engineering.
But mathematics is not Langston’s strong suit. He’s a writer. In high school he wrote for the newspaper and edited the yearbook. His favorite teacher, Miss Helen Maria Chestnutt, 40, encouraged him to write poetry, plays, short stories—anything.
One of Langston’s first poems was written to a girl he met at a dance:
…And the beauty of Susanna Jones in red
Burns in my heart a love-fire sharp like pain.
Sweet silver trumpets,
Jesus!”
Now he is mesmerized by the river, thinking of how his ancestors have been influenced by rivers throughout history. He thinks,
I’ve known rivers.”
Langston writes that sentence on the back of an envelope.
Hear Langston Hughes talk about and read his first famous poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” [it’s short] here.
“Such Friends”: 100 Years Ago… is the basis for the book, “Such Friends”: The Literary 1920s, to be published by K. Donnelly Communications. For more information, email me at kaydee@gpysyteacher.com.
Manager as Muse, about Scribner’s editor Maxwell Perkins and his relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, is available on Amazon in both print and Kindle versions.
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