Most Popular Books by Richard Wright

Richard Wright describes what it was like growing up in Jim Crow-era Mississippi.

“If one had to identify the single most influential shaping force in modern Black literary history, one would probably have to point to Wright and the publication of Native Son.” – Henry Louis Gates Jr. Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright''s powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America. This edition of Native Son includes an essay by Wright titled, How "Bigger" was Born, along with notes on the text.

Back in its original unabridged form, a novel of Depression-era Chicago.

Wright presents a compelling story of a black man''s attempt to escape his past and start anew in Harlem. Cross Damon is a man at odds with society and with himself, a man who hungers for peace but who brings terror and destruction wherever he goes. As Maryemma Graham writes in her Introduction to this edition, with its restored text established by the Library of America, "The Outsider is Richard Wright''s second installment in a story of epic proportions, a complex master narrative designed to show American racism in raw and ugly terms ... The stories of Bigger Thomas ... and Cross Damon bear an uncanny resemblance to many contemporary cases of street crime and violence. There is also a prophetic note in Wright''s construction of the criminal mind as intelligent, introspective, and transformative." In addition to the Introduction by Maryemma Graham, this edition includes a notes section by Arnold Rampersad.

"Johnny, you''re leaving us tonight . . . " Fifteen-year-old Johnny Gibbs does, well in school, respects his teachers, and loves his family. Then suddenly, with a few short words, his idyllic life is shattered. He learns that the family he has loved all his life is not his own, but a foster family. And now he is being sent to live with someone else. Shocked by the news, Johnny does the only thing he can think of: he runs. Leaving his childhood behind forever, Johnny takes to the streets where he learns about living life--the hard way. Richard Wright, internationally acclaimed author of Black Boy and Native Son, gives us a coming-of-age story as compelling today as when it was first written, over fifty years ago. ‘Johnny Gibbs arrives home jubilantly one day with his straight ‘A’ report card to find his belongings packed and his mother and sister distraught. Devastated when they tell him that he is not their blood relative and that he is being sent to a new foster home, he runs away. His secure world quickly shatters into a nightmare of subways, dark alleys, theft and street warfare. . . . Striking characters, vivid dialogue, dramatic descriptions, and enduring themes introduce a enw generation of readers to Wright’s powerful voice.’—SLJ. Notable 1995 Children''s Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)

A black author''s assault upon a society that transforms self-destructiveness into an art.

Autobiography of Southern Negro who yearned for intellectual and physical freedom.

Collection of interviews revealing Wright''s racial experience and the themes and techniques of his own work.

The haiku of acclaimed novelist Richard Wright, written at the end of his...

New York Times Bestseller • One of the Best Books of the Year: Time magazine, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, and Esquire • One of Oprah’s 15 Favorite Books of the Year From the legendary author of Native Son and Black Boy, the novel he was unable to publish during his lifetime—an explosive story of racism, injustice, brutality, and survival. "Not just Wright''s masterwork, but also a milestone in African American literature . . . One of those indispensable works that reminds all its readers that, whether we are in the flow of life or somehow separated from it, above- or belowground, we are all human." (Gene Seymour, CNN.com) “The Man Who Lived Underground reminds us that any ‘greatest writers of the 20th century’ list that doesn’t start and end with Richard Wright is laughable. It might very well be Wright’s most brilliantly crafted, and ominously foretelling, book.”—Kiese Laymon Fred Daniels, a Black man, is picked up by the police after a brutal double murder and tortured until he confesses to a crime he did not commit. After signing a confession, he escapes from custody and flees into the city’s sewer system. This is the devastating premise of Richard Wright''s scorching novel, The Man Who Lived Underground, written between his landmark books Native Son (1940) and Black Boy (1945), at the height of his creative powers. Now, for the first time, by special arrangement between the Library of America and the author’s estate, the full text of the work that meant more to Wright than any other (“I have never written anything in my life that stemmed more from sheer inspiration”) is published in the form that he intended, complete with his companion essay, “Memories of My Grandmother.” Malcolm Wright, the author’s grandson, contributes an afterword.

Set in the American Deep South, each of the powerful novellas collected here concerns an aspect of the lives of black people in the postslavery era, exploring their resistance to white racism and oppression. Published in 1938, this was the first book from Wright, who would continue on to worldwide fame as the author of the novels "Native Son and "Black Boy.

Wright''s dazzling novel of murder & misadventure.

"White Man, Listen! is a collection of the best of Richard Wright''s lectures on race, politics, and other matters close to the acclaimed novelist and essayist''s heart, which he delivered in Europe between 1950 and 1956"--Back cover.

Tells the stories of a young farm worker deep in debt, a flood, murder, a fugitive, exile, and a railroad porter.

Richard Wright''s devastating autobiography of his childhood and youth in the Jim Crow South His training by his elders was strict and harsh to prepare him for the "white world" which would be cruel. Their resentment of those trying to escape the common misery made his future seem hopeless. It was necessary to grow up restrained and submissive in southern white society and to endure torment and abuse. Wright tells of his mental and emotional struggle to educate himself, which gave him a glimpse of life''s possibilities and which led him to his triumphant decision to leave the South behind while still a teenager to live in Chicago and fulfill himself by becoming a writer.

Includes a brief biography of the author, thematic and structural analysis of the work, critical views, and an index of themes and ideas.

In "Pagan Spain," Richard Wright embarks on a profound exploration of the cultural and spiritual landscape of Spain, synthesizing a blend of literary travelogue and sociopolitical critique. Through Wright''s incisive prose, the book delves into the tensions of modernity and tradition, revealing how Spain''s rich historical tapestry influences its contemporary identity. The narrative unfolds with Wright''s characteristic mix of vivid imagery and personal reflection, establishing a unique lens through which readers can appreciate the complexities of Spanish culture during a time marked by shifting ideologies and tumultuous politics. Richard Wright, an influential figure in American literature, is best known for his harrowing portrayals of race and identity in works such as "Native Son" and "Black Boy." His journey to Spain was not just a geographical exploration; it represented a quest for understanding beyond the racial confines he faced in America. Wright''s experiences as an African American expatriate resonate deeply within this work, offering insights into the universal search for identity, heritage, and belonging amidst foreign landscapes. "Pagan Spain" is an essential read for anyone interested in the interplay of culture, history, and identity. Wright''s nuanced observations invite readers to reflect on their own perceptions of otherness and the significance of cultural roots. This book serves as a bridge between the divergent worlds of the past and present, making it a timeless resource for both literary scholars and curious travelers alike.

A remarkable celebration of Richard Wright, poetry, and contemporary black boys at play. From walking a dog to watching a sunset to finding a beetle, Richard Wright''s haiku puts everyday moments into focus. Now, more than fifty years after they were written, these poems continue to reflect our everyday experiences. Paired with the photo-collage artwork of Nina Crews, Seeing into Tomorrow celebrates the lives of contemporary African American boys and offers an accessible introduction to one of the most important African American writers of the twentieth century.

This indispensable work urging removal of the color barrier remains one of the key commentaries on the question of race in the modern era. First published in 1956, it arose from Richard Wright''s participation in a global conference held in Bandung, Indonesia, in April 1955. With this report of what occurred at Bandung Wright takes a central spot on the international stage and serves as a harbinger of worldwide social and political change. He exhorts Western nations, largely responsible for the poverty and ignorance in their former colonies, to destroy racial impediments and to work with the leadership of the new nations in moving toward modernization and industrialization under a free democratic system rather than under Communist totalitarianism. With this book, Wright became a precursor to the era of multiculturalism and an advocate for global transformation.

In the powerful tradition of Native Son, Richard Wright''s last novel is a stirring story of racial prejudice in the South.

"Richard Wright" (1908-1960) was one of the landmark authors of twentieth-century American literature as well as one of the most formidable and eloquent black voices of his day. In nearly 900 pages the editors have collected his most essential and evocative writing: essays like "Black Power" and "Pagan Spain"; selections from his autobiography Black Boy; most of the photographs and the complete text of Wright''s folk history of the African-American experience 12 Million Black Voices; representative criticism, articles, letters, and poetry; the complete novellas "The Man Who Lived Underground" and "Big Black Good Man"; and generous excerpts from novels like Uncle Tom''s Children, Native Son, The Outsider, The Long Dream, Savage Holiday, and Lawd Today. The result is a beautifully wrought miniature panorama of the career of a writer whose immense talent was matched only by his humanity.

12 Million Black Voices combines Wright''s prose with startling photographs selected by Edwin Rosskam from the Farm Security Administration files compiled during the Great Depression. The photographs include works by such giants as Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein. From crowded, run-down farm shacks to Harlem storefront churches, the photos depict the lives of black people in America - their misery and weariness under rural poverty, their spiritual strength, and their lives in northern ghettos. Wright''s accompanying text eloquently narrates the story of these pictures and delivers a powerful commentary on the origins and history of black oppression in this country.

“An intense, provocative, and vital crime story that excavates paradoxical dimensions of race, class, sexism, family bonds, and social obligation while seeking the deepest meaning of the law." — Booklist Originally published posthumously by his daughter and literary executor Julia Wright, A Father’s Law is the novel Richard Wright, acclaimed author of Black Boy and Native Son, never completed. Written during a six-week period prior to his death in Paris in 1960, it offers a fascinating glimpse into the writer’s process as well as providing an important addition to Wright’s body of work. In rough form, Wright expands the style of a crime thriller to grapple with themes of race, class, and generational conflicts as newly appointed police chief Ruddy Turner begins to suspect his own son, Tommy, a student at the University of Chicago, of a series of murders in Brentwood Park. Under pressure to solve the killings and prove himself, Turner spirals into an obsession that forces him to confront his ambivalent relationship with a son he struggles to understand. Prescient, raw, and powerful, A Father''s Law is the final gift from a literary giant.

Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright''s novel is just as powerful today as when it was written -- in its reflection of poverty and hopelessness, and what it means to be black in America. This abridged edition includes an introduction, "How Bigger Was Born," by the author, as well as an afterword by John Reilly.

Nineteen fifteen. The resurgent Ku Klux Klan met on Stone Mountain in Georgia for its first-ever cross burning. Fifty-six blacks were reported lynched. Nineteen twenty-three. Half a million blacks migrated into Northern cites with false hopes of better times in the nation''s factories. Nineteen twenty-nine. The stock market crashed. Soon more than a quarter of all blacks were unemployed. Nineteen thirty-three. Under the New Deal, the segregated Civilian Conservation Corps put 200,000 black teenagers to work. Nineteen forty. Richard Wright''s Native Son outsells John Steinbeck''s The Grapes of Wrath to become number one on the best-seller list. 12 Million Black Voices, first published in 1941, brilliantly captures the lives of black people in America during the early twentieth century by combining the powerful prose of Richard Wright with startling photographs selected by Edwin Rosskam from the Farm Security Administration files compiled during the Great Depression. From crowded, run-down farm shacks to Harlem storefront churches, the photographs ? by giants like Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, & Arthur Rothstein ? poignantly depict the lives of black people while the accompanying text eloquently narrates the story of the pictures & delivers a powerful commentary on the origins & history of black oppression in this country.