[Hughes promises to try to find information about the Haitian writer Jacques Roumain (1907-1944) and his novel La Montaigne Ensourcelle , mentioning another Haitian poet, Felix Morisseau-Leroy , as a possible source of information; discusses his influence on Roumain and Nicolas Guillen (1902-?), "Roumain has had, so far as I know, no book of poems, but has appeared in magazines, etc. His poetry is free verse, mostly Negro in subject matter rather than in form. Both he and Guillen say they've been influenced by my work, but Roumain toward the free verse-race matter side, and Guillen toward the use of folk forms and idioms, the Cuba n equivalent of my blues. Guillen was writing Spanish free verse when I first met him around 1930 and hadn't yet touched the dialect-folk idiom that made him famous. I pointed out to him then the music of the Cuban son, I mean the word-music and rhythm aside from the melodies. And a year or two later he sent me his early son poems." He also discusses another Cuban writer identified as Francisca who published Cartucho , her memories about the Mexican revolution, under her family name of Nellie Campobello , in 1931. Hughes suggests that Hays look in Revista De Habana by Jose Antonio Fernandez de Castro for more information. About Francisca's poetry Hughes says, "Her poetry is very un-Spanish in that it is very simple, very free, very un-ornate and clear, like early unrhymed Millay, but more child- like." He also calls the short story "That Night the Dead Came Out" by Lino Novas Calvo one of the best he ever read.]

[supplies additional information about Jacques Roumain gathered from Felix Morisseau-Leroy , including his birth in Port-au-Prince, Haiti , additional books of essays, Fantoches and Proie Et Lombre , and his present activities in establishing an anthropological museum for the Haitian government]

[thanks Hays for the swell review in Poetry and sends him the correct address for Jose Antonio Fernandez de Castro ]