{"value"=>"<p>Richard Plant's correspondence files contain incoming and outgoing letters, postcards and miscellaneous enclosures. The majority of items are written in English, but there are as well substantial numbers written in German, Plant's native language. Topics discussed include the author's historical research, his academic career, his writings and his personal affairs. Prominent correspondents include composer Jack Beeson, author Heinrich Böll, sociologist Rüdiger Lautmann, historian Hugh Trevor-Roper and gay activist Ian Young. The files contain a great deal of information related to Plant's study of the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and the composition of his book on the subject, <span class=\"title\">The Pink Triangle</span>. Particularly important in this regard are letters exchanged with Rüdiger Lautmann, Albert de Cocatrix, Jim Steakley and Ian Young. There is also material relating to Plant's collaboration, with Jack Beeson, on the composition of the opera <span class=\"title\">Lizzie Borden</span>, and his work as editor and translator of the German writers Heinrich Böll and Marie Luise Kaschnitz</p>"}