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Book

Black boy : (American hunger) : a record of childhood and youth

Call Number

  • 921 W955 2020 TEEN (POW)

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Edition

75th anniversary edition.

Publication Information

New York : HarperPerennial Modern Classics, 2020.

Physical Description

xvi, 425, 16 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm.

Summary

The author grew up in the woods of Mississippi amid poverty, hunger, fear, and hatred. He lied, stole, and raged at those around him; at six he was a "drunkard", hanging about in taverns. Surly, brutal, cold, suspicious, and self-pitying, he was surrounded on one side by whites who were either indifferent to him, pitying, or cruel, and on the other side by blacks who resented anyone trying to rise above the common law. This is the author's powerful account of his journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. It is an unashamed confession and a profound indictment, a poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human suffering.

Notes

"The restored text established by the Library of America."

"... originally published in 1945 by Harper & Brothers ... The text as restored by the Library of America was published in 1991 in a volume entitled Richard Wright: Later works that also included The Outsider" -- Title page verso.

Subjects