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The essential Harlem Renaissance reads

The Blacker the Berry

The groundbreaking Harlem Renaissance novel about prejudice within the black community 
 
Emma Lou Morgan's skin is black - 'too black', as the narrator writes at the beginning of The Blacker the Berry. Tired of the scorn and contempt of her classmates, teachers, friends and even family, she leaves her hometown of Boise, Idaho, travelling first to Los Angeles and then to Harlem, New York, in search of a community to which she can belong. In Harlem, Emma Lou finds an exciting, vibrant scene of nightclubs and dance halls and parties and love affairs ... but there is no escaping the shame she feels about the darkness of her skin. 
 
Written by an overlooked author of the Harlem Renaissance The Blacker the Berry is a vivid and disturbing portrait of a young woman who has been rejected by her own race. It is a strikingly relevant reflection on the role that skin colour plays in American society.

Wallace Thurman (1902-1934) was a novelist, essayist, editor and playwright of the Harlem Renaissance. In addition to The Blacker the Berry he wrote two other novels, Infants of Spring and Inverne and a play, Harlem. He founded the magazines Outlet, Fire!! and The Looking Glass and edited numerous other publications

Emma Lou Morgan's skin is black - 'too black', as the narrator writes at the beginning of The Blacker the Berry. Tired of the scorn and contempt of her classmates, teachers, friends and even family, she leaves her hometown of Boise, Idaho, travelling first to Los Angeles and then to Harlem, New York, in search of a community to which she can belong. In Harlem, Emma Lou finds an exciting, vibrant scene of nightclubs and dance halls and parties and love affairs ... but there is no escaping the shame she feels about the darkness of her skin. 
 
Written by an overlooked author of the Harlem Renaissance The Blacker the Berry is a vivid and disturbing portrait of a young woman who has been rejected by her own race. It is a strikingly relevant reflection on the role that skin colour plays in American society.

Wallace Thurman

'Thurman's novel presents some of the most layered portrayals of New York City life...from seedy employment agency waiting rooms to swank Harlem hot spots'

VINTAGE CLASSICS' HARLEM RENAISSANCE SERIES 
 
 Celebrating the finest works of the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most important Black arts movements in modern history. 
 
'Why not? She's just as a good as the rest, and you know what they say, "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice"' 
 
Growing up, Emma Lou Morgan stuck out - her skin was the darkest in every room, even within her own home. With the encouragement of her uncle, Emma flees smalltown Idaho firstly to study in Los Angeles before travelling to Harlem. Though she enjoys the glamour of attending the theatre and the buzz of cabaret, every excursion is tinged with the fear of discrimination. Even in big cities, Emma cannot escape the bigotry of colourism, but can she change how it makes her feel about herself? 
 
The Blacker the Berry is an arrestingly vivid portrayal of how very deeply every facet of prejudice runs. 
 
'Thurman's novel presents some of the most layered portrayals of New York City life...from seedy employment agency waiting rooms to swank Harlem hot spots' NPR

Wallace Thurman

Books by Wallace Thurman

Series by Wallace Thurman

Harlem Renaissance Series

Articles featuring Wallace Thurman

The essential Harlem Renaissance reads

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