A Love No Less: More Than Two Centuries of African American Love Letters.

by Pamela Newkirk Doubleday, February 2003 $19.95, ISBN 0-385-50379-2

Love. We write songs about it, make movies about it, and over the years, many writers have attempted to examine romantic relationships in the black community--often through a historical perspective or by taking a psychological approach.

But with her remarkable new epistolary book, A Love No Less: More Than Two Centuries of African American Love Letters, award-winning journalist and NYU professor Pamela Newkirk presents readers with a rare look into intimate relationships between black men and women from slavery to the present day. The collection includes over 90 letters, telegrams and postcards from more than 20 couples. Some are well-known: Paul Laurence Dunbar and Alice Ruth Moore; and NYU Law Professor Derrick Bell and his wife Janet--while others, like Missouri soldier Andrew Valentine and his bride Ann, are more obscure.

"These letters make soul mates out of strangers," Newkirk says--and she is right. Many are playful while some express the sadness of separation. But without exception, all of the letters are passionate and tender, reflecting the deep commitment that the writers shared with their loved ones.

Newkirk prefaces each set of letters with an introduction to the couple and the circumstances surrounding their correspondence. With the exception of a few letter writers who were slaves, most of the writers seem to be well-educated or middle class; there are few, if any letters between farmers or domestics. There are a few cases where only one person is writing, and we wonder what the lover's response might have been.

The book might have been stronger if it included selections from a more diverse cross-section of people. Otherwise, the letters are fascinating, not only for their personal content, but in the way that they document patterns in relationships, such as the presence of dual career and commuter couples long before the 21st century. Also interesting is the frequent use of pet names like "daddy," which remain in use today. The tone of the book is celebratory, providing a refreshingly positive viewpoint on black relationships.

As "a testament to the love that has survived the hardships of slavery, war, discrimination and poverty," A Love No Less succeeds admirably.

--Denise Simon is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn.