Man of mystery …

… Review: 'Selected Letters of Langston Hughes' a look into poet's soul - LA Times. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)

For all his meticulous documenting, the Hughes we encounter in these letters remains, in a certain sense, an enigma: a figure who "shrugged off insults," who could skate around conflict, and even keep his head under the unblinking eye of HUAC investigation. "He seemed assured and optimistic when many other blacks were cynical and bitter," writes Rampersad. "When rebuffed ... chose to look ahead."

Sounds pretty self-possessed to me.