New Releases by Richard Wright

This ethnography of teenage suburban drug dealers "provides a fascinating and powerful counterpoint to the devastation of the drug war" (Alice Goffman, author of On the Run). When we think about young people dealing drugs, we tend to picture it happening in disadvantaged, crime-ridden, urban neighborhoods. But drugs are used everywhere. And teenage users in the suburbs tend to buy drugs from their peers, dealers who have their own culture and code, distinct from their urban counterparts. In Code of the Suburb, Scott Jacques and Richard Wright offer a fascinating ethnography of the culture of suburban drug dealers. Drawing on fieldwork among teens in a wealthy suburb of Atlanta, they carefully parse the complicated code that governs relationships among buyers, sellers, police, and other suburbanites. That code differs from the one followed by urban drug dealers in one crucial respect: whereas urban drug dealers see violent vengeance as crucial to status and security, the opposite is true for their suburban counterparts. As Jacques and Wright show, suburban drug dealers accord status to deliberate avoidance of conflict, which helps keep their drug markets more peaceful—and, consequently, less likely to be noticed by law enforcement.

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 special 75th anniversary edition of Richard Wright''s powerful and unforgettable memoir, with a new foreword by John Edgar Wideman and an afterword by Malcolm Wright, the author’s grandson. When it exploded onto the literary scene in 1945, Black Boy was both praised and condemned. Orville Prescott of the New York Times wrote that “if enough such books are written, if enough millions of people read them maybe, someday, in the fullness of time, there will be a greater understanding and a more true democracy.” Yet from 1975 to 1978, Black Boy was banned in schools throughout the United States for “obscenity” and “instigating hatred between the races.” Wright’s once controversial, now celebrated autobiography measures the raw brutality of the Jim Crow South against the sheer desperate will it took to survive as a Black boy. Enduring poverty, hunger, fear, abuse, and hatred while growing up in the woods of Mississippi, Wright lied, stole, and raged at those around him—whites indifferent, pitying, or cruel and Blacks resentful of anyone trying to rise above their circumstances. Desperate for a different way of life, he headed north, eventually arriving in Chicago, where he forged a new path and began his career as a writer. At the end of Black Boy, Wright sits poised with pencil in hand, determined to “hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo.” Seventy-five years later, his words continue to reverberate. “To read Black Boy is to stare into the heart of darkness,” John Edgar Wideman writes in his foreword. “Not the dark heart Conrad searched for in Congo jungles but the beating heart I bear.” One of the great American memoirs, Wright’s account is a poignant record of struggle and endurance—a seminal literary work that illuminates our own time.

From dusty rural villages to northern ghettos, 12 Million Black Voices is an unflinching portrayal of the lives that many black Americans lived in the 1930s. It is a testament to the strength of black communities throughout America.

These inspirational meditations, prayers, and stories are written by an Ojibwe Elder and alcohol and drug counselor to speak with clarity, wisdom, and care about the everyday experience of recovery. The author combines Ojibwe and Twelve Step spiritual principles and practices with stories from Indians at all stages of recovery to help readers navigate the challenges and rewards of living sober. Each of this book’s 52 meditations includes a short reflection, a related story "from the rooms" of AA, and seven prayers—one for every day of the week. Grounded in reliance on the Creator, the wisdom of Elders, and the support of the sober community, this unique collection is intended to provide daily strength and hope for the recovery journey and counteract the harsh realities of poverty, violence, and broken relationships that are too often fueled by alcohol and other drug use. Readers will recognize the value of spiritual laws like Honesty, Sharing, Kindness, and Strength as well as the power of traditional rituals such as offering tobacco with prayers. Whatever our culture, we can apply this book’s wisdom to our recovery and life.

The excerpts featured in this free sampler come from some of our most popular nonfiction books for middle and high school classrooms—making them ideal choices to meet the new Common Core Standards for the English Language Arts. From the primary documents of The American Reader to The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind—the story of young man from an impoverished African village who built a windmill to bring life-changing electricity to his community—these books will take students across time periods and around the world. They''ll grapple with complex ideas and meet people from the past and present who will inspire them. Along the way, your students will come to understand the components of critical thinking and good writing—and why they matter.

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

Here, in these powerful stories, Richard Wright takes readers into this landscape once again. Each of the eight stories in Eight Men focuses on a black man at violent odds with a white world, reflecting Wright''s views about racism in our society and his fascination with what he called "the struggle of the individual in America." These poignant, gripping stories will captivate all those who loved Black Boy and Native Son.

Richard Wright 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 by blacks who resented anyone trying to rise above the common lot. Black Boy is Richard Wright''s powerful account of his journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. It is at once an unashamed confession and a profound indictment—a poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human suffering.

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.

"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.

"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)

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.

Wright''s dazzling novel of murder & misadventure.

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

A collection of interviews presents a portrait of the late American writer, offering glimpses into his development and character, as well as his concerns about racism and world events

The library of America is dedicated to publishing America''s best and most significant writing in handsome, enduring volumes, featuring authoritative texts. Hailed as the "finest-looking, longest-lasting editions ever made" (The New Republic), Library of America volumes make a fine gift for any occasion. Now, with exactly one hundred volumes to choose from, there is a perfect gift for everyone.

Trapped in the poverty-stricken ghetto of Chicago''s South Side, a young black man finds release only in acts of violence.

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.

"Lawd Today traces a single heartbreaking day in the life of Jake Jackson, a postal clerk in depression-ridden Chicago. Jake is not an admirable man, not even a pleasant one, but before his nightmarish odyssey is done, the reader sees all too clearly that society has given Jake Jackson, like Bigger Thomas, no alternative"--Dust jacket.