Verna Arvey
Verna Arvey (1910–1987) was an American librettist, pianist, and writer. She is best known for collaborating with her husband, composer William Grant Still.
She was born in Los Angeles to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, Bessie Tark and David Arvey. Arvey started playing piano as a child and finished school at Manual Arts High School. She briefly pursued a concert pianist career, performing as a soloist with Raymond Paige’s CBS Network orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Arvey met William Grant Still in 1930 and later married him in 1939. Their interracial marriage was unusual for the era but did not hurt their careers. They had two children, and the couple remained together until Still’s death in 1978. Her granddaughter is journalist Celeste Headlee.
Her first major collaboration with Still came in 1939, when Langston Hughes left Troubled Island. Arvey wrote lyrics for three arias and became Still’s librettist for many operas, including A Bayou Legend, A Southern Interlude, Costaso, and Mota.
In addition to opera, Arvey wrote articles on music for The New York Times and numerous music publications, such as Etude, Musical Courier, Opera, Concert and Symphony, Musical America, and others. She also wrote books.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:12 (CET).