Pisano calls the letters from 1964 to 1965 "the final stretch in this early pe riod of the Jones-Dorn friendship" (170). When in 1965 Jones declined to partici pate in the Berkeley Poetry Conference in California and Dorn took his place, it was a major turning point in Jones's artistic association with the Beat Generation. Mockingly, Olson identified himself at the conference as "that famous thing, the White Man, the ultimate paleface ... the thing that runs this country" (170). However, "the

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... iendship between Jones and Dorn would suffer separation but never total loss" (207). Although Dorn and Baraka continued to correspond through 1999, the col lection does not contain any of the later letters, which "have not yet come to light in either personal or public archives" (209). In 1965, Jones's move to Harlem occurred after the assassination of Malcolm X, followed by his establishment of the Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School in Harlem (170). After 1965, Jones con tinued to gain recognition as a major African American spokesperson, jazz writer, cultural critic, and activist. Unfortunately, there is little to glean in the letters about Jones's early views of Malcolm X although Pisano adequately fills in the blank spaces. Following 1965, Dorn continued to publish poetic works and held a teaching position in England at the University of Essex (1965-70). Overall, Pisano's diligence in assembling the Jones-Dorn correspondence should be strongly commended. The correspondence uncovers a part of Baraka's biography that is often overshadowed by his black activist-poet identity. The let ters also show Dorn in relation to the various schools of the new poetry move ment. The social forces of the early 1960s, the push-pull factors of the civil rights era and racial identity, are brought into greater clarity through this unique literary and personal relationship.