First published in 1928, "Quicksand" is the first novel by American author Nella Larsen. It is the semi-autobiographical tale of a young, mixed race woman who struggles to find her place in the world. Like her main character, Helga Crane, Larsen was the daughter of a Danish white mother and a West Indian black father who disappeared from her life as a baby. Larsen and the fictional Crane never feel that they belong in either the white world or the...

This rather simple plot is a most compelling drama that bristles with suspense as it contains all the elements of a classic 19th-century mystery including, reversed identities, a horrible crime, an eccentric detective, and a tense courtroom scene. Set in the fictional frontier town of Dawson's Landing on the banks of the Mississippi River in the first half of the 19th century, the book turned from a farce to a tragedy in the course of Twain's writing...

Nella Larsen was an important writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance. While she was not prolific, her work was powerful and critically acclaimed. Collected here are both, of her novels, 'Passing' and 'Quicksand'. 'Quicksand', was autobiographical in nature and examined a woman's need for sexual fulfilment balanced against respectability and acceptance amid a deeply religious society. The novel is deeply pessimistic and ends as the protagonist...

In 1937, Alabama was racially divided. The legal system at this time, aided by the Ku Klux Klan, enforced strict segregation. The last unlawful lynching of a black man by the Klan occurred in rural Southeast Alabama. The young man sought protection from his employer, who sheltered him with the family in his home. After thirty-six hours of a continuous siege by the Klan, the accused was handed over to the county sheriff for trial. This is the true...

He was a very sick white man. He rode pick-a-back on a woolly-headed, black-skinned savage, the lobes of whose ears had been pierced and stretched until one had torn out, while the other carried a circular block of carved wood three inches in diameter. The torn ear had been pierced again, but this time not so ambitiously, for the hole accommodated no more than a short clay pipe. The man-horse was greasy and dirty, and naked save for an exceedingly...

"The Weary Blues" is the powerful and ground-breaking collection of poetry by American author Langston Hughes. An important contribution to the growing Harlem Renaissance art movement, "The Weary Blues" was Hughes' first poetry collection and was published in 1926 when the author was only 24, though some of the poems had appeared earlier in magazines. An immediate critical success, Hughes created a new form of poetry, called jazz or blues poetry,...

A series of vignettes exploring African American life as it relates to social, political and family dynamics. For many, Cane is considered a literary masterpiece from visionary writer, Jean Toomer. He presents a diverse collection of tales with distinct and vibrant characters who populate a world that's all too familiar. HEADLINE: Jean Toomer delivers a vivid depiction of America in the early twentieth century that centers the Black experience,...

"The Prototype: A Story of True Love" tells the story of Jadirah, a woman in search of the perfect love. Throughout her journey, Jadirah is striving to maintain her mental, physical, and spiritual health after public shame and loss. Due to the lack of support and compassion from her husband, she must face most challenges on her own. As she embarks on a journey toward the unconditional love that she deserves, she is faced with a choice that will radically...

Although born with it, it seems as though it takes a lifetime to discover beauty within one's self. How does one even begin to define it? The simple appreciation of beauty is another feat in itself. It's always been there waiting to be unearthed. Flower In My Hair is like being born again...into beauty. Be Introduced or reacquainted with self love. BLESSEDselling Author E. N. Joy gifts her readers with her most personal and private thoughts. In the...

"When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his 'proper place' and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary." Overcoming extreme poverty, racism, and other adversities Carter Godwin...