A Letter from Sonia Levitin, 2009

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Story for a Black Night

Sonia Levitin—or Sunny as she is known to close friends—is one of the most important people ever to have strayed into my life. I can't express how happy our friendship over so many years has made me. I certainly would never have published Story for a Black Night without the generosity and stick-to-it-tiveness of this wonderful woman, and I doubt very much that I would have had a career as a writer without her help and guidance.

I call her “wonderful” and no lesser word would do. She and her husband Lloyd have, along with the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance, sponsored for many years the Once Upon a World Book Award to books for children from ages 7-10 on a subject of social justice. In addition, all of Sunny's own books have heroes and heroines who are themselves models of social justice. It is a phenomenal contribution to the world that Sonia Levitin is responsible for.

Recently Sunny has collaborated with some fine musicians and actors and producers and directors to bring her book The Return to the stage as a full-scale musical. Reviews have been outstanding, and we can only hope that Return, The Musical will have a big and important future in front of it.

This success has inspired Sunny to think about turning Story for a Black Night into a stage piece. Although I have my own history in writing plays, and I have even adapted two of Mark Twain's novellas into the musical Howling Twain, for some reason it is difficult for me to envisage this kind of adaptation for Story for a Black Night. No doubt this is some sort of artistic smallness of mind on my part, and I find this a peculiar fault within myself, of all people. Nevertheless, such an adaptation has never occured to me, and I seem quite sure that I myself could not take on such a project. Sunny seems bent on it, and that delights me, of course, and I am very anxious to see her succeed.

But, oh, the mountain range ahead of her! I ache at the very thought of it.

In any case, Sunny recently copied me this letter that she wrote to Jackie Moscou, Artistic Director of the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center in Seattle where they are planning to stage Return in 2011. Sunny's email so amused and moved me that I wanted to include it here in the Story for a Black Night webpages.

October 26, 2009

Dear Jackie,

I had told my friend Bob (Clayton Bess) that I meant to give you his book STORY FOR A BLACK NIGHT, and he decided to send this autographed copy for you.

Bob is a most unusual person, and so is his story. This is how I discovered it. I was teaching a writing class to a large group of students in Moraga, (near San Francisco). It must have been sometime in the late 60’s. I begged my students NOT to send me material written by their relatives, because with so many in class I wouldn’t have time to read other offerings.

One woman, Bertha, kept telling me about her nephew, Bob, who was in the Peace Corps in Africa and had written this wonderful story. I reminded her of my policy of limiting my critique to the students at hand. Nevertheless, Bertha appeared at my home one night at 9 p.m., shoved this manuscript at me and fled. I sighed deeply and sat down, thinking to read the first few pages and then scornfully return the manuscript the next day in class. I sat. I read. I got chills down my spine. I cried. I suspected that I was being scammed; surely this was a notable, prize-winning classic, written by some famous author, and Bertha was playing a prank, testing my abilities.

The next day I calmly confronted Bertha, saying, “Please bring me the author of this story.” She said she would, and the next week in came this young man dressed in hiking boots and fatigues, rather rough cut but very amiable, and here was the dialogue.

Me. “Did you write this story?”

Bob: “Yes.”

Me: “Has it been published?”

Bob. “No. But I’ve given copies to lots of friends.”

Me. “It is one of the best stories I have ever read. I want to help you get it published. But first you must retrieve all the outstanding copies. Then we can work together.”

Fast forward: ten years later I found an editor to publish the book. It won the Commonwealth Prize in San Francsico. It was published in French and I think in some other languages. Twenty years after publication it won the Phoenix Award.

I have recently read it again. I still think it is one of the best stories I ever read.

I think it should be a play. It is about Africa, prejudice, and great love. It is about judging others and about loss. It has so much HEART that I can’t wait to read it again.

Enjoy.

Copyright © 2009 Robert Locke
All Rights Reserved