The Best of Simple.

HUGHES, Langston.

Item Number: 129397

New York: Hill and Wang, 1961.

First paperback edition of the fourth book in Hughes’ “Simple” series. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by Bernhard Nast. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the verso of the front free endpaper in the year of publication, “For Zell ~ Sincerely, Lang Harlem, U.S.A., Sept. 19, 1961.” The recipient, Cleveland artist Zell Ingram, was a close friend of Hughes. He accompanied Hughes on a voyaged to the Caribbean in 1931 and stayed with him in Haiti for several months. Although they rumored to have been lovers, Hughes disguised Ingram as a heterosexual platonic friend in his first collection of memoirs, I Wonder as I Wander. In near fine condition. A fine association.

Of all the fictional characters in modern African American literature, Simple is probably the most widely admired and beloved. From a humble beginning in a column for the Chicago Defender, he found his way into books, radio, television, and the musical comedy stage. He has been described as "a major figure in American literature" (Brooks Atkinson), as "far more than an uptown Mr. Dooley, a tart-tongued Will Rogers, or a very hipped Lenox Avenue Uncle Remus... probably the best combination of all three" (The New York Post), as as "the voice of the American Negro" (The New Republic). The fourth novel in the "Simple" series of books, The Best of Simple contains a selection of Hughes' own personal favorite Simple stories.