A new book focuses on a queer, Black, WWII-era translator who risked safety for love

Summary

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NPR’s Book of the Day: Ethleen Whitmire on “The Remarkable Life of Reed Pegram”

Date: February 12, 2026
Host: Andrew Limbong (A), Scott Simon (C)
Guest: Ethleen Whitmire (D), historian and author

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Overview

This episode spotlights Ethleen Whitmire’s new nonfiction book, The Remarkable Life of Reed Pegram, which uncovers the extraordinary yet largely forgotten life of Reed Pegram—a queer, Black Harvard scholar and translator who defied both racial and sexual prejudice, risking safety to remain in Europe with his lover during World War II. Whitmire joins NPR’s Scott Simon to discuss Pegram’s singular journey through academic achievement, passion, displacement, adversity, and tragedy, as well as the invaluable letters that made his story possible.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

How the Story Was Unearthed

• Serendipitous Discovery of Letters (02:04–02:46)
  • Whitmire explains that during a 2016 talk in Copenhagen, a member of her audience revealed she was Pegram’s great-niece.
  • The great-niece shared over 200 family letters from Pegram written during WWII in Paris, Copenhagen, and Florence.
  • These letters formed the foundation of the biography.

Pegram’s Early Life & Education

• Academic Excellence Under Racial Caveats (02:46–03:19)

  • Pegram grew up in Cambridge, excelled at Boston Latin School, and attended Harvard.
  • Despite immense academic praise, recommendations always emphasized his race.
  • “[They] admired him for his intellect, ...but they never failed to mention that he was a Black American. So there was always a caveat.” — Ethleen Whitmire (03:03–03:19)

• The Pivotal Role of Pegram’s Grandmother, Laura Reed (03:19–04:11)

  • Laura Reed, with only a third-grade education, worked as a janitress and house cleaner for Boston’s elite.
  • She leveraged her network to secure opportunities for Pegram, even prompting her employers to write recommendations to Harvard.
  • Whitmire dedicates the book to Laura: “She was able to gain access for Reed to these prestigious institutions.” (03:24–04:11)

Love, Art, and Exile in Europe

• Early Signs of Queer Love: Leonard Bernstein (04:11–04:52)

  • At Harvard, Pegram developed an unrequited affection for Leonard Bernstein, revealed through love letters.
  • “He was quite infatuated with him, and he did not get a very positive response. But it demonstrated just how passionate Reed was in terms of love.” (04:20–04:52)

• Paris: A Place to Become Himself (04:52–05:50)

  • Pegram’s pursuit of French culture led him to Paris on a prestigious scholarship in 1938, just as WWII loomed.
  • He stayed despite advisories to return, finding anonymity and the freedom to reinvent himself:
    “He was in a place where no one knew him, but he had all sorts of opportunities to become the man that he wanted to be.” (04:54–05:50)

Commitment Amid War

• Choosing Love Over Safety (05:50–06:23)

  • Pegram met Danish artist Arna Hoffman and refused repeated offers to return to the U.S., instead following Arna through war-torn Europe.
  • “He didn’t want to abandon Arna. And they ended up going to Italy and staying there for five years during the war.” (05:55–06:23)

• Desperate Years in Italy (06:23–07:22)

  • The couple’s situation became dire:
    • Arna could not get a U.S. visa.
    • Laura Reed sent what money she could, but support was limited by occupied Denmark and her own poverty.
    • U.S. authorities and the State Department could not help.
    • Eventually exposed as a same-sex couple, Pegram and Arna were evicted, separated, and forced into a concentration camp.
  • “Eventually, they were asked to leave Florence, and they were separated...and then eventually they ended up in a concentration camp.” (06:57–07:22)

Hardship and Legacy

• Liberation and Decline (07:22–08:02)

  • After months in the camp and wandering Italy, the couple encountered African American troops, and coverage by embedded journalists led Whitmire to Pegram’s story.
  • Postwar, Pegram’s health and prospects declined:
    • Four years in a sanitarium with electroshock therapy and a possible lobotomy.
    • Never realized his scholarly potential.

• A Life of Promise and Prejudice (08:23–08:58)

  • Whitmire reflects on the tension between Pegram’s brilliance and the forces of racism and homophobia that undermined his life’s fulfillment:
    “He was betrayed by not just race, but also homophobia. If he could have married Arna, he could have brought him to the United States and they would not have had this whole odyssey.” (08:36–08:58)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The first hint that I knew that Reid was gay was in the love letters that he wrote to Leonard Bernstein. I must say, unrequited love letters...”
  — Ethleen Whitmire, (04:20)

• “She worked as a janitress... Even though she only had a third grade education, she pushed her grandson to go to these institutions.”
  — Ethleen Whitmire on Laura Reed, (03:24)

• “He was in a place where no one knew him, but he had all sorts of opportunities to become the man that he wanted to be ... He could reinvent himself, live the life that he wanted to.”
  — Ethleen Whitmire, (05:00–05:25)

• “He was betrayed by not just race, but also homophobia.”
  — Ethleen Whitmire, (08:36)

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Important Timestamps

• [02:04]: Discovery of Pegram’s letters in Copenhagen
• [03:03]: Discussion of racial caveats in Pegram’s early accolades
• [04:11]: Pegram’s infatuation with Leonard Bernstein
• [05:55]: Meeting and staying with Arna Hoffman during WWII
• [06:57]: Hardship in Italy and separation
• [07:22]: Time in concentration camp and eventual discovery by U.S. troops
• [08:36]: Whitmire on intersectional bigotry shaping Pegram’s fate

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Conclusion

Ethleen Whitmire’s The Remarkable Life of Reed Pegram excavates a dazzling, tragic life—one that charts the ambitions and heartbreaks of a queer Black scholar who risked everything for love in the shadow of global conflict. Through Whitmire’s painstaking research and unexpected discovery of Pegram’s letters, the episode showcases themes of resilience, the costs of invisibility, and the enduring support of family across continents and crises.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. The new nonfiction book the Remarkable Life of Reid Pegram is a fascinating look at this man's life. He was a guy who loved so hard that he risked staying in Europe during World War II as a queer black man to be with the man he loved. But while Reed Pegram's life was remarkable, his story is one that could have just as easily been lost to the sands of time if not for historian and writer Ethleen Whitmire. She talks to NPR Scott Simon about what we can learn from Pegram's life and the serendipitous meeting that led to Whitmire being able to tell the full breadth of Pegram's story. That's after the break.

[B]

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[C]

Reid Pegram was a translator who spoke many languages and helped give life to a lot of literature. A new book helps us learn about what may be the most extraordinary story, his own life. The Remarkable Life of Reed Pegram is Etheline Whitmire's new account of the life of a renowned Harvard scholar who went to Europe in the 1930s on a prestigious scholarship, posed for famed artists, and found freedom and love there as a queer black man. And so he stayed, even as World War II rolled in. Ethleen Whitmire, a historian and professor in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, joins us from Madison. Thanks so much for being with us.

[D]

Oh, thanks for having me.

[C]

You were giving a talk in Copenhagen in 2016, and what happened?

[D]

Well, I invited several of my friends to come, and some of my students that I was teaching there on a Fulbright also were attending this talk. And one of the people I invited raised her hand at the end of my presentation about the experiences of African Americans in Denmark. And she said one of the most fascinating people that I talked about, Reed Pegram, was her great uncle. She came to my office at the University of Copenhagen later, and she told me that the family retained letters that he wrote from Paris, from Copenhagen and from Florence during World War II. And they ended up being over 200 letters.

[C]

Reed Pegram, growing up in Cambridge, he got into the highly, highly reputed Boston Latin School. He was a talented student, and he thrived there. But we cringe now, I think, to read the wording of the accolades that he received from the headmaster.

[D]

Yes, not just from the headmaster, but also letters of reference from professors at Harvard. They admired him for his intellect, and they talked about that, but they never failed to mention that he was a black American. So there was always a caveat.

[C]

I get you to tell us about his grandmother, Laura Reed. She's a real heroine in this story.

[D]

She is. I actually dedicated the book to her. I admired her so much. She married in Virginia and had a young daughter, and then her husband died, and she went up north to Boston on her own with her young child. This is before the Great Migration. This is in the late 1800s. And she worked as a janitress, as it said on the census records. And she also cleaned homes for very prestigious people in Dorchester. Even though she only had a third grade education, she pushed her grandson to go to these institutions. And one of the people who wrote a letter of recommendation to Harvard was one of the people that she cleaned for. So I think she was able to gain access for Reed to these prestigious institutions through the people that she worked for.

[C]

Well, and she will come back into this story, But Reed Pegram's experience at Harvard, he had what amounts to a romantic misunderstanding with Leonard Bernstein.

[D]

Right, Leonard Bernstein. He's a little bit younger than Reed, but they interacted at Harvard. And the first hint that I knew that Reid was gay was in the love letters that he wrote to Leonard Bernstein. I must say, unrequited love letters that he wrote to him that are in the Library of Congress. He was quite infatuated with him, and he did not get a very positive response. But it just demonstrated just how passionate Reid was in terms of love. And that played out later, too, in his life.

[C]

What drew Reid Pegram to Paris?

[D]

He was very fascinated with French culture, French literature, French music. His thesis at Harvard was Sentimental Education and Madame Bovary. He compared those. He took lots of courses in French, and one of his professors said that he spoke French like a native and he wanted to go there. And even though he arrived in 1938, it was on the eve of World War II, and the United States Embassy was already telling people to return. He said he was going to stay until the bombs started falling. He was in a place where no one knew him, but he had all sorts of opportunities to become the man that he wanted to be. No one knew that he came from a humble background and he could reinvent himself, live the life that he wanted to as a scholar, and also going to opera, in museums, listening to music. He was just so thrilled to be.

[C]

There, of course, at the onset of a world conflict. Why did Reid stay?

[D]

At the end of his stay in France, he was introduced to a young Danish artist, Arna Hoffman, and he was in love. He was so utterly taken with him. He visited him in Copenhagen, Denmark, and then World War II started, and though he had many opportunities, people offered to buy him a ticket home. He decided he would stay. He didn't want to abandon Arna. And they ended up going to Italy and staying there for five years during the war.

[C]

And tell us about their lives there.

[D]

They were miserable. Once they got to Italy, they found it was almost impossible for Arna to get a visa to enter the United States. And so they were just waiting and hoping that someone can help them. They were in quite dire straits. Denmark was occupied by the Nazis, and so Arna's family could not send money to them from Italy. And he was being supported by a grandmother who was working as a janitor and then eventually retired. And so she sent what she could.

[C]

This is the grandmother, Laura Reed, who enters our story again heroically.

[D]

Yes. And she sent many letters back and forth, but she also asked the State Department to try to intervene, which they couldn't. But, yeah, they stayed, and they were in misery. Eventually, they were asked to leave Florence, and they were separated when authorities found out that there were two men living together in the same apartment and sharing one room and one bed. And then eventually they ended up in a concentration camp.

[C]

Two years in that camp. Right.

[D]

It's hard to tell, but there were several months that they were in there, and then after they eventually were able to leave, they were still wandering the countryside. And so they were in a lot of trouble. They ran into African American troops from the 92nd infantry who were in Italy. And they had reporters embedded with them. And the reporters recorded this story, took photographs, and that's how I actually discovered the story. And that's where I started with Reed Reed.

[C]

Pegram's life enters a very sad period. Then he went to a sanitarium and received treatments. What was that like?

[D]

Yes. He spent four years at Medfield State Hospital. He underwent electroshock therapy and possibly a lobotomy. And then his life after that, the life that started with such promise, seemed to just go very downhill. He never was able to finish his thesis or work as a university professor, which he wanted to do.

[C]

Professor Whitmire, how do we how do we account this human life a dazzling life and or a life dimmed by bigotry and misunderstanding?

[D]

It started with a dazzling life. I think that's important to look at all the opportunities that he had and took advantage of and and then he was betrayed by not just race, but also homophobia. If he could have married Irna, he could have brought him to the United States and they would not have had this whole odyssey.

[C]

The Remarkable Life of Reed Pegram is Ethleen Whitmire's new book. Thank you so much for being with us.

[D]

Thank you so much for having me.

[B]

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[D]

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