Picture of Author Author Name
Van Vechten sent greetings every year on Hughes' birthday, February 1. Van Vechten shared a common birthday--June 17-- with Alfred A. Knopf, Jr. and James Weldon Johnson. The Van Vechtens, Knopfs, and Johnsons often celebrated the day together, as they are in the photograph below the telegram, taken on June 17, 1931 at the Knopfs' home in Purchase, New York.

Click on the telegram to listen to Emily Bernard's commentary.

 

 


Party, June 17, 1931
L to R: Ettie Stettheimer, Carl Van Vechten, James Weldon Johnson with his arms around Fania Marinoff, Witter Bynner, Grace Nail Johnson. Kneeling: Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., called "Pat." Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. is taking the photograh.

 

 

-NEXT-

 

  • Listen to a rich conversation between Emily and Judith Jones, who was Langston Hughes's last editor and who continues to work at Knopf -- Judith served as Emily's editor on this project as well. While you listen to the conversation (about 15 minutes in length), you can still move around the site, look at images and read excerpts and letters. This is a large file to download.

  • Hear Emily read several of the letters from the book on Random House's Bold Type.

  • Visit the Langston Hughes pages in the Knopf Poetry Center.

  • Read an excerpt from Carl Van Vechten's contoversial novel, Nigger Heaven.

  • Return to Emily Bernard's main desktop page.