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Harlem Glory: A Fragment of Aframerican Life
Written in the late 1940s but unpublished till now, this superb portrayal of Black life during the Great Depression and the New Deal is virtually a sequel to the classic Home to Harlem. Mckay's vivid, warm evocations of the omnipresent numbers racket, all-night jazz parties and the whole exuberant and cacophonous clash of social movements and ideologies - Black nationalism and industrial unionism as well as incipient Muslim and other heterodox religious formations - provide the context for a fast-paced narrative of love, work, play and revolt in Black America during one of the most stirring periods in US history. Astutely sensitive to the extraordinary vitality and diversity of Black culture, and drawing on the author's experiences in the IWW and the extreme Left of the socialist movement, Harlem Glory reveals Claude McKay at his very best.
- GenresFiction
175 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1988
About the author
Claude McKay
83 books215 followersJamaican-born American writer Claude McKay figured prominently in the Harlem renaissance of the 1920s; his works include collections of poetry, such as
Constab Ballads
(1912), and novels, including
Home to Harlem
(1928).
Home to Harlem, a best-seller, won Festus Claudius McKay, a poet and a seminal figure, the Harmon gold award for literature.
He also wrote novels Banjo and Banana Bottom . People not yet published his manuscript, called Amiable with Big Teeth: A Novel of the Love Affair between the Communists and the Poor Black Sheep of Harlem , of 1941.
McKay also authored collections of poetry, a collection of short stories, Gingertown . He authored two autobiographical books, A Long Way from Home and My Green Hills of Jamaica , published posthumously. He entitled a non-fiction, socio-historical treatise Harlem: Negro Metropolis . People published his poetry collection, Harlem Shadows , in 1922 among the first books during the Harlem renaissance. Survivors published his Selected Poems posthumously in 1953.
Home to Harlem, a best-seller, won Festus Claudius McKay, a poet and a seminal figure, the Harmon gold award for literature.
He also wrote novels Banjo and Banana Bottom . People not yet published his manuscript, called Amiable with Big Teeth: A Novel of the Love Affair between the Communists and the Poor Black Sheep of Harlem , of 1941.
McKay also authored collections of poetry, a collection of short stories, Gingertown . He authored two autobiographical books, A Long Way from Home and My Green Hills of Jamaica , published posthumously. He entitled a non-fiction, socio-historical treatise Harlem: Negro Metropolis . People published his poetry collection, Harlem Shadows , in 1922 among the first books during the Harlem renaissance. Survivors published his Selected Poems posthumously in 1953.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 12, 2009
this is a hard book to find. it's put out by charles kerr press out of chicago, but not a lot of stores carry them. if you find it, it's definitely worth a read. it's very short, in part because claude mckay died before finshing it. i wish he would have finished it (it literally just ends) but the story and characters up to where it ends are very engaging. the story and the writing is very similar to james baldwin and i feel like baldwin must have read him.
October 24, 2012
One wonders what this book could have been if finished. As is, it's a fascinating bridge between Harlem Renaissance writing and Ellison, Baldwin et al. The wry bitterness found throughout this book is not abrasive, but as envigorating as strong coffee.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews