Bontemps worked with Langston Hughes on pieces geared toward adults. They co-edited "The Poetry of the Negro" (1949) – described by "The New York Times" as "a stimulating cross-section of the imaginative writing of the Negro" that demonstrates "talent to the point where one questions the necessity (other than for its social evidence) of the specialization of 'Negro' in the title" – and "The Book of Negro Folklore" (1958). Bontemps collaborated with Conroy and wrote a history of the migration of African-Americans in the United States called "They Seek a City" (1945). They later revised and published it as "Anyplace But Here" (1966). Bontemps also wrote "100 Years of Negro Freedom" (1961) and edited "Great Slave Narratives" (1969) and "The Harlem Renaissance Remembered" (1972). In addition he was also able to edit "American Negro Poetry" (1963), which was a popular anthology. He compiled his poetry in "Personals" (1963) and also wrote an introduction for a previous novel, "Black Thunder", when it was republished in 1968.