Charles Henri Ford Letters

Charles Henri Ford was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, in 1908, as Charles Henry Ford, although there seems to be some confusion as to the exact location and year of Ford’s birth. Ford was a poet, editor, novelist, and artist. He was considered to be the United States first Surrealist poet. Ford co-authored with Parker Tyler what many consider the first gay novel, The Young and Evil (1933). He was also well known for his editing of two magazines, Blues: A Magazine of New Rhythms and View, a magazine published during the 1940s that focused on Surrealist and figurative art and literature. Ford’s career spanned most of the twentieth century. He maintained friendships with many of the most famous literary and artistic figures of the era, including Man Ray, Andy Warhol, Robert Maplethorpe, and Patti Smith.