Eddie Johnson
Long Melford. 21.10.2007.I rarely read the colour supplement but as an admirer of Studs Terkel I had to read the Robert Chalmers interview which I enjoyed, however to refer to Paul Robeson as ‘the black opera singer’ is almost dismissive of one of the great Americans of the 20th century. Robeson certainly sang in opera, he also acted in many films but it was his singing of ‘negro spirituals’ that most people remember him for that and his singing of the ‘Showboat’ hit ‘Old man River” whose lyrics he gradually altered over the years so that they reflected the plight of the black man in American society.

Chalmers also writes of James T Farrell’s crime novels. Studs Lonigan was a story of a young Irish American’s upbringing and life in Chicago, it is considered to be a classic of the depression years, the article gives the impression that Lonigan was some private eye from the pen of pulp crime writer.. A bit more care and attention and maybe research please.

Yours faithfully,

Eddie Johnson
Long Melford. 21.10.2007.