Letters to Donald Windham, 1940-1965

The first collected letters by Williams to be published, rich in anecdote and gossip, spirited and uninhibited in tone. Most are from 1940-1951, when the two writers were passing from obscurity to success. Williams was 28 when he met the 19-year-old Windham. They decided to collaborate on a play, and while Windham stayed in New York, Williams roamed the country, searching out solitude or beautiful young men as his volatile moods dictated. The letters celebrate the worlds of publishing, theater, and film, but also offer glimpses of sources of Williams' drama in long, moving letters about his family, whose misery caused him so much anguish and conflict. Framing this spontaneous and mercurial talk is Windham's reflective commentary.--From publisher description.