Tennessee Williams' Letters to Donald Windham 1940-1965

by Tennessee Williams

These letters display a remarkable range of emotions and information. In addition to scenes of backstage drama with Williams' many producers, directors, associates and lovers, we catch glimpses of Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, Christopher Isherwood, Leonard Bernstein, and Greta Garbo...

Genres: Nonfiction

333 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Thomas Lanier Williams III, better known by the nickname Tennessee Williams, was a major American playwright of the twentieth century who received many of the top theatrical awards for his work. He moved to New Orleans in 1939 and changed his name to "Tennessee," the state of his father's birth.

Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, after years of obscurity, at age 33 he became famous with the success of The Glass Menagerie (1944) in New York City. This play closely reflected his own unhappy family background. It was the first of a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961). With his later work, he attempted a new style that did not appeal to audiences. His drama A Streetcar Named Desire is often numbered on short lists of the finest American plays of the 20th century, alongside Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

Much of Williams' most acclaimed work has been adapted for the cinema. He also wrote short stories, poetry, essays and a volume of memoirs. In 1979, four years before his death, Williams was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

From Wikipedia

Reviews

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

a really interesting & varied correspondence; a neat look into queer life during this time period as well.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started to read this book, I was not familiar with the biography and work of Donald Windham. Only in the biographies of Tennessee Williams, he was mentioned as a very close friend of the famous writer. Now I discovered another interesting, witty man and equally talented writer. The book also mentions many famous people of the last century, which gives the book even more fascinating. I especially recommend it to those interested in the life and work of Tennessee Williams and homosexuality in General (most of the characters in the book were gay).

[Richard Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't say they reveal too much about Williams. More of Windham's egotism is on display.