The Luck of Friendship: The Letters of Tennessee Williams and James Laughlin

James Laughlin, Williams Tennessee

Summary

The chronicle of Tennessee Williams and James Laughlin’s unlikely yet enduring literary and personal relationship.
 
In December 1942, two guests at a Lincoln Kirstein mixer bonded over their shared love of Hart Crane’s poetry. One of them was James Laughlin, the founder of a small publishing company called New Directions, which he had begun only seven years earlier as a sophomore at Harvard. The other was a young playwright named Thomas Lanier Williams, or "Tennessee," as he had just started to call himself. A little more than a week after that first encounter, Tennessee sent a letter to Jay—as he always addressed Laughlin in writing— expressing a desire to get together for an informal discussion of some of Tennessee’s poetry. "I promise you it would be extremely simple," he wrote, "and we would inevitably part on good terms even if you advised me to devote myself exclusively to the theatre for the rest of my life."
 
So began a deep friendship that would last for forty-one years, through critical acclaim and rejection, commercial success and failure, manic highs, bouts of depression, and serious and not-so-serious liaisons. Williams called Laughlin his "literary conscience," and New Directions serves to this day as Williams’s publisher, not only for The Glass Menagerie and his other celebrated plays but for his highly acclaimed novels, short stories, and volumes of poetry as well. Their story provides a window into the literary history of the mid-twentieth century and reveals the struggles of a great artist, supported in his endeavors by the publisher he considered a true friend.

Available since: 03/13/2018.

Other books that might interest you

The Letters of Lord Byron -...

Mr Punch

Join us on a captivating journey through the tumultuous story of the enigmatic Lord Byron, brought to life by the legendary Robert Powell in “The Letters of Lord Byron”.

“If you want to see into man’s soul, start with this self-portrait. It’s magnificent” The Guardian
Lord Byron, born in 1788, led a life steeped in scandal, poetry, and passion. From his boisterous early years as the son of "Mad Jack" Byron to his rebellious days at Harrow and Cambridge, Byron's story is as riveting as his verses.

In 1809, Byron set off on a European odyssey, only to return to England and enter into a short-lived marriage with Annabella Milbanke. The marriage's collapse drove him into exile, where he found solace in the arms of Claire Clairmont and the Countess Teresa Gamba Guiccioli.

Discover the romantic entanglements, poetic genius, and revolutionary spirit of Lord Byron in this enthralling production, where history and drama converge to create an unforgettable experience.

Don't miss "The Letters of Lord Byron" an extraordinary journey through the life of a literary legend.

Also available as part of the CLASSIC LETTERS & JOURNALS BOX SET, a sixteen hour, seven-volume edition featuring the letters and journals of Lord Nelson, Charlotte Brontë, Scott of the Antarctic, Queen Victoria, Lord Byron, Jane Austen and Dorothy Wordsworth. Performed by Charles Dance, Imogen Stubbs, Edward Fox, Virginia McKenna, Robert Powell, Fiona Shaw and Jenny Agutter.

Show book

Carrier Pilot

Norman Hanson

In 1942 Norman Hanson learned to fly the Royal Navy's newest fighter: the U.S.-built Chance Vought Corsair. Fast, rugged, and demanding to fly, it was an intimidating machine. But in the hands of its young Fleet Air Arm pilots it also proved to be a lethal weapon.Posted to the South Pacific aboard HMS Illustrious, Hanson and his squadron took the fight to the Japanese. Facing a desperate and determined enemy, Kamikaze attacks, and the ever-present dangers of flying off a pitching carrier deck, death was never far away.Brought to life in vivid, visceral detail, Carrier Pilot is one of the finest aviators' memoirs of the war; an awe-inspiring, thrilling, sometimes terrifying account of war in the air.

Show book

The Millionaire Father - because...

Jeffrey Reitzel

Have you ever wanted to spend more time with your family but just couldn't seem to make it happen? Have you ever wanted to do more for your family but the money just wasn't enough? Want no more. 
 
Author, father, real estate, and mortgage broker Jeffrey Reitzel is here to show you how to have more money, reach your goals, and spend quality time with family. In The Millionaire Father, Reitzel has created a blueprint that will help the ordinary guy build a life of financial freedom, freeing him to have more time with family.

Show book

Welcome to Vietnam Macho Man -...

Ernest Spencer

This is hands down the most heartbreaking and thought provoking historical novel about Khe Sanh and even the Vietnam War you will ever have the honor to read. Other books are easier to read, yet none of them will leave you a believer like this book will. It is January, 1968 and Ernest returns to Khe Sanh from R&R to the opening of the longest battle in the Vietnam War. He is a Korean American Marine Commander and the Rifle Commander of Delta 6, leading over 250 men through the toughest of battles and conditions. The siege at Khe Sanh went on non-stop for 2.5 months. Life was shrunken to full time living inside bunkers, watching rations and supplies slide out the back of cargo planes as they flew low past Hill 881 and finding ways to remain hopeful while being unable to use camaraderie or communications to keep it real. What is to become of the survivors of this incredible battle?
Seldom is the author so true to himself and the memory of those lost that he is willing to blind others with their own tears and shame rather than sacrifice what he knows to be the true story. At the end of the book, the author, Ernest Spencer was faced with having to identify a casualty from his battalion. He says," Rodriguez is gone and I am still here. Why? I feel fear wash through me. They die while I watch. Who will care? How long will they care?"
Listen to this story and learn the haunting truths. It will probably make you feel uncomfortable. Take a few more moments and try to imagine first living the story and then laying it down on paper. It is our debt to read this book, in honor of those who have given more than we can ever imagine. And to remember what really mattered: the men and women who served and sacrificed for a country that has remained ungrateful. This book is pages and pages of heart and soul - bare naked anger, hate, suffering and despair. You will feel the weight of the Vietnam War in your hands.

Show book

The Life and Times of E R...

E. R. Braithwaite

Three compelling memoirs from the author of the “moving and inspiring” international bestseller, To Sir, With Love (The New York Times). E. R. Braithwaite wrote powerfully and poignantly about racial discrimination—both in his most famous novel, based on his own experience teaching in London’s East End, To Sir, With Love, which was made into a 1967 film starring Sidney Poitier—and in his candid nonfiction memoirs, three of which are collected here. Honorary White: In 1973, after the South African government lifted a long-standing ban on To Sir, With Love, Braithwaite was granted the official status of “Honorary White” for the length of his six-week visit. As such, he was afforded some of the freedoms that South Africa’s black population was denied, yet was nonetheless still considered inferior by the white establishment. In this “vivid” memoir, Braithwaite honestly presents his struggle with what he witnesses in South Africa under apartheid (The New York Times). Reluctant Neighbors: Sparked by the experience of sharing a train commute with a bigoted white neighbor, Braithwaite recounts a personal history of remarkable accomplishments in the face of racial intolerance and oppression, offering an unforgettable story of one man’s continuous struggle against injustice and his unwavering dedication to the pursuit of human dignity. A Kind of Homecoming: In the early 1960s, the British Guianese author embarked on a pilgrimage to the West African countries of Ghana, Guinea, and Liberia, and across Sierra Leone just as the emerging nation was preparing to declare its independence. Braithwaite discovered a world vastly different from the staid, firmly established British society in which he had spent most of his life. The sights, sounds, and smells of West Africa vividly reawakened lost memories from his childhood. Entering the intimate circles of the local intelligentsia, he was able to view these newly evolving African societies from the inside, struck by their mixtures of passion and naïveté, their political obsessions and technological indifference. He discovered a world that fascinated, excited, and, in some cases, deeply troubled him—and in the process he discovered himself.

Show book

2Pac vs Biggie - An Illustrated...

Jeff Weiss, Evan McGarvey

Hip hop icons and rap innovators, the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur continue to influence, define, and change the genre years after their deaths. Despite the controversies surrounding the murders of Tupac and Biggie, ultimately it’s their art that remains their biggest legacy. The music of Biggie Smalls and 2Pac has inspired the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and more. The legacies of Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace—a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. —live on. So does their rivalry, one of the greatest in music history. In 2pac vs. Biggie, hip hop experts Jeff Weiss and Evan McGarvey take an entirely new approach to investigation of that rivalry. Rather than focus on the countless conspiracy theories, they study the artist as artists, dissecting the lyrics of their hits (“California Love,” “All Eyez on Me,” “Changes” for 2pac, “Mo Money Mo Problems,” “Hypnotize,” “Big Poppa” for Biggie) and lesser-known works, performance and rhythmic styles, aesthetic appearances and what those meant, rises to power, and of course, their lives after death. The feud between 2pac and Biggie is broken down and looked at from all new angles, bringing to light little-known and surprising sides to each rapper’s persona and inner world. Illustrated throughout with photographs, memorabilia, and artwork inspired by Tupac and Biggie, and with insert “versus” pages dissecting topics such as each artist’s presence in movies, critical reception, and literary influences, this book is a must-have for all rap and hip hop fans.

Show book