In Flaming Letters

Lucia Pitts

ISBN 10: 0813954061 / ISBN 13: 9780813954066

Published by University of Virginia Press, US, 2025

About this Item

A treasury of poetry and prose from an unsung trailblazer of Black literature Lucia M. Pitts ( 1904-1973) was an African American writer and Army veteran whose story has never been told. Her poetry, including love lyrics of striking sensuality and honesty, was admired by Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Dorothy West. Her work first appeared during the Harlem Renaissance, influenced by Harriet Monroe's Poetry magazine and blues singers Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. A native of Chicago's Bronzeville, Pitts challenged discrimination and segregation throughout her remarkable life, both as a member of President Franklin Roosevelt's 'Black Cabinet' and as the first African American woman employed at the War Department. Then, in 1943, Pitts joined the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the Army's only all-Black, all-female battalion, which later received the Congressional Gold Medal. Pitts's own account of her service with the Six Triple Eight, however, has remained unpublished until now. This volume brings together a biography of Pitts, her complete military memoir, and one hundred of her finest poems.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780813954066

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In Flaming Letters
• Publisher: University of Virginia Press, US
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813954061
• ISBN 13: 9780813954066
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 292 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A treasury of poetry and prose from an unsung trailblazer of Black literature

Lucia M. Pitts (1904–1973) was an African American writer and Army veteran whose story has never been told. Her poetry, including love lyrics of striking sensuality and honesty, was admired by Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Dorothy West. Her work first appeared during the Harlem Renaissance, influenced by Harriet Monroe’s Poetry magazine and blues singers Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. A native of Chicago’s Bronzeville, Pitts challenged discrimination and segregation throughout her remarkable life, both as a member of President Franklin Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet” and as the first African American woman employed at the War Department. Then, in 1943, Pitts joined the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the Army’s only all-Black, all-female battalion, which later received the Congressional Gold Medal.

Pitts’s own account of her service with the Six Triple Eight, however, has remained unpublished until now. This volume brings together a biography of Pitts, her complete military memoir, and one hundred of her finest poems.

About the Author

Verner D. Mitchell is Professor of English at the University of Memphis. Cynthia Davis is Professor of English at San Jacinto College. Together they have published seven books.