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Creator
Galer, Julio, 1925-2006
Call number
Sc MG 1016
Physical description
0.83 linear feet (2 boxes)
Language
Multiple languages; Materials primarily in English and Spanish, with one translation in Italian.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Julio Galer/Langston Hughes letters, Sc MG 1016, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Julio Galer (1925-2006) was an Argentine professor of English and a Spanish language translator, notably translating a number of Langston Hughes's works into Spanish. Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was an American poet, writer of short stories, novelist, playwright, essayist, and lyricist. The letters and related materials that Hughes sent to Galer showcase the relationship between writer and translator. These materials include manuscripts (with and without annotation); published musical scores, printed matter, and news articles; programs and playbills; and a small number of photographs of Hughes. The collection also contains drafts of Galer's translations of Hughes's poems.

Biographical/historical information

Julio Galer (1925-2006) was an Argentine professor of English and a Spanish language translator, notably translating a number of Langston Hughes's works into Spanish.

Abraham Julio Galer was born in Córdoba, Argentina, in 1925. He attended the Institute of Languages at the National University of Córdoba from 1939 to 1943 and went on to become a professor of English. He first wrote to Langston Hughes in 1948 after translating some of Hughes's poems on his own. Galer shared information about his background and translation work and expressed that an editorial house in Buenos Aires, Editorial Lautaro, had interest in publishing an anthology of Hughes's work in Argentina. Hughes responded positively to Galer's request, beginning an extensive correspondence between the two that led to numerous translations of Hughes's work in Spanish, most notably the 1952 anthology Poemas. Theater companies in Argentina put on or planned productions of Mulato, Galer's Spanish translation of Hughes's play Mulatto. Despite years of correspondence, Galer and Hughes never met in person. Galer died in 2006 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was an American poet, writer of short stories, novelist, playwright, essayist, and lyricist. He was a renowned figure of the Harlem Renaissance and jazz poetry movements.

Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, in 1902 and grew up in the midwest. He attended Columbia University from 1921 to 1922, but after experiencing institutional and interpersonal racism, left the school. Hughes then traveled and worked internationally in Africa and Europe. He returned to the United States, working and writing before receiving a bachelor's degree from Lincoln University in 1929. Hughes went on to continue his prolific writing career from a home base in Harlem, New York City, while traveling to countries such as China, Japan, Russia, and Spain on journalistic endeavors. Hughes was a translator himself, translating the work of poets like Nicolás Guillén, Federico García Lorca, and Gabriela Mistral from Spanish to English. Hughes died in 1967 in New York City.

Scope and arrangement

The Julio Galer/Langston Hughes letters contain correspondence between Galer and Hughes related to Galer's Spanish language translations of Hughes's works. The majority of the collection comprises letters and related materials that Hughes sent to Galer. Hughes includes details of his professional life, writing, and publications in these letters. Many include discussion about Galer's translations of Hughes's work. There is also a selection of Galer's translations and supporting materials, including translation manuscripts and materials that Galer may have collected about Hughes. The collection spans the years 1932 to 2002, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1948 to 1957.

The correspondence files include hand and typewritten letters, mailing envelopes, and various materials that Hughes sent either with or separately from the letters mentioning them, including manuscripts (poems, essays, plays, and short stories) both published and pre-publication, often with notes (hand and typewritten) by Hughes about translation. The files also contain published musical scores featuring lyrics by Hughes, some autographed; printed matter (e.g., Ebony, Our World, Poetry Society Bulletin, and The Crisis) containing pieces by and/or about Hughes, often labeled with the relevant page numbers of the pieces; typed manuscripts of essays about Hughes; news clippings and articles about Hughes or his works, including a selection mentioning Spanish language translations; Christmas greeting cards; performance programs and playbills (covering Hughes's plays, tributes to Hughes, and other events featuring him); a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) flyer; as well as several photographs and postcards of Hughes, some with Hughes's signature.

While the correspondence files are largely composed of letters and materials that Hughes sent to Galer, there are two letters in the collection that Galer sent to Hughes. There are also four letters from other correspondents to Galer, either written on Hughes's behalf or regarding a production of Galer's Spanish language translation of Hughes's play Mulato, as described at the file level.

The translations and related materials files include Galer's translation manuscripts of Hughes's poems and Mulato; flyers, invitations, and news clippings related to Teatro La Farsa's production of Galer's translation of Mulato; translations of Hughes's work by two other translators; and a 2002 American Poet journal issue with a Langston Hughes tribute that Galer collected about Hughes.

Arrangement

The correspondence files are arranged chronologically by year.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Nora Galer in 2024.

Processing information

Processed by Sarah Barlow-Ochshorn in 2025.

Related Material

Langston Hughes collection, Sc Micro R-977, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library.

Langston Hughes collection: additions, Sc MG 129, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library.

Langston Hughes Papers. James Weldon Johnson Collection in the Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor