Five Plays.

First edition of this collection of five of Hughes' best-known plays. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author with a full page inscription on the front free endpaper, "Especially for Geoffrey ~ some of my plays ~ Sincerely ~ Langston Hughes New York April 22, 1964." The recipient, BBC producer Geoffrey Bridson, co-produced the now famous nineteen-part BBC series The Negro in America which offered a kaleidoscopic portrait of African-Americans’ contribution to twentieth century culture as well as some raw insights into the Civil Rights struggle that was then rapidly gathering momentum. First broadcast in the opening weeks of 1965, one of the most memorable episodes in the series explored the subject of African-American writing with Langston Hughes chairing a discussion between Le Roi Jones (later known as Amiri Baraka) and James Baldwin, who had just published his celebrated collection of essays about race and one of the most influential works on race relations published in the twentieth century: The Fire Next Time. With Bridson's bookplate to the pastedown. Very good in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Ronald Sterkel. Edited and with an Introduction by Webster Smalley. A very nice association.