Richard Wright Papers

The Richard Wright Papers contain manuscripts, correspondence with other writers such as Nelson Algren, Arna Bontemps, Ralph Ellison, Chester Himes, Langston Hughes, Gunnar Myrdal and Margaret Walker, photographs, financial and legal documents and printed materials relating to the life and work of Richard Wright. Included are drafts of such works as Black Boy and Native Son, photographs of trips to Spain and Ghana, various items of personal memorabilia such as Wright’s Spingarn Medal, and a film of Wright’s screen test for the movie version of “Native Son”. The collection spans the years 1927-1978, the bulk of the material concentrated in 1940-1960, the years of Wright’s greatest output as an author.