Bücher von Richard Wright

Während der letzten achtzehn Monate seines Lebens, im Angesicht des drohenden Todes und zutiefst erschüttert über den kürzlichen Verlust seiner Mutter Ella stieß Richard Wright, einer der bedeutendsten afroamerikanischen Schriftsteller des 20. Jahrhunderts, im europäischen Exil durch Zufall auf die Form des Haiku. Waren es zuvor vorrangig Romane, in denen er Momente Schwarzen Lebens kraftvoll in Szene setzte, begann er nun wie besessen, im Bett, in Cafés, in Restaurants, in Paris und auf dem französischen Land jene aus drei Wortgruppen von fünf, sieben und fünf Silben bestehende japanische Gedichtform zu füllen - nicht nur mit der Darstellung menschlicher Beziehungen oder seiner eigenen Krankheit, auch die Welt der Natur in all ihrer Vielfalt fing er in mehr als 4000 Haikus ein. Von der Unmittelbarkeit des Augenblicks durchdrungen, dabei stets vor der Folie der Erfahrungen als Afroamerikaner in einem von Rassismus geprägten Land, spann er Gedichte des Lichts aus der zunehmenden Dunkelheit - und schuf mit den 817 hier erstmals ins Deutsche übertragenen Gedichten ein so schillerndes wie zärtliches Bild des Lebens in all seinen Wirrungen und Wundern.

?[Wright's] landscape was not merely that of the Deep South, or of Chicago, but that of the world, of the human heart.? ? James BaldwinHere, 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.

"I found these stories both heartening. . . and terrifying as the expression of a racial hatred that has never ceased to grow and gets no chance to die." --Malcolm Cowley, The New RepublicRichard Wright's powerful collection of novellas set in the American Deep SouthEach of the poignant and devastating stories in Uncle Tom's Children concerns an aspect of the lives of Black people in the post-slavery era, exploring their resistance to white racism and oppression. This extraordinary collection also includes a personal essay by Wright titled "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow."Originally published in 1938, Uncle Tom's Children was the first book from Wright, who would go on to win international renown for his powerful and visceral depiction of the Black experience. The author of numerous works, most notably the acclaimed novel Native Son and his stunning autobiography, Black Boy, Wright stands today as one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century.

"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 beautifully designed Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition--the restored text of Native Son established by the Library of America--also includes an essay by Wright titled, How "Bigger" was Born, along with notes on the text.

"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." -- BooklistOriginally 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.

This comprehensive work, one of a series cosponsored by the Christian College Coalition, addresses the needs of the Christian student of biology to align both science and faith. It demonstrates that the study of biology penetrates to the very depths of existence and can contribute to the construction of a consistent Christian world view. Richard Wright explores the biblical message of creation, relating it to contemporary understanding of origins and the responsibilities of our human "stewardship" of the planet. He stresses the biblical message of dominion and how it applies to the interaction of the life sciences with society in medicine, genetics, and the environment. The author addresses what the bible states about God and His world-- the meaning of creation, and how biblical concepts relate to science and the "natural laws", high-lighting the unique nature of biology and its interaction with Christian thought.

Street criminals live in a dangerous world, but they cannot realistically rely on the criminal justice system to protect them from predation by fellow lawbreakers; they are on their own when it comes to dealing with crimes perpetrated against them and often use retaliation as a mechanism for deterring and responding to victimization. Although retaliation lies at the heart of much of the violence that plagues many inner-city neighborhoods across the United States, it has received scant attention from criminologists. As a result, the structure, process, and forms of retaliation in the real world setting of urban America remain poorly understood. Street Justice: Retaliation in the Criminal World, first published in 2006, explores the face of modern day retaliation from the perspective of currently active criminals who have experienced it first hand, as offenders, victims, or both.

Originally published in 1954, Richard Wright′s Black Power is an extraordinary nonfiction work by one of America′s premier literary giants of the twentieth century. An impassioned chronicle of the author′s trip to Africa′s Gold Coast before it became the free nation of Ghana, it speaks eloquently of empowerment and possibility, and resonates loudly to this day. Also included in this omnibus edition are two nonfiction works Wright produced around the time of Black Power. White Man, Listen! is a stirring collection of his essays on race, politics, and other essential social concerns ("Deserves to be read with utmost seriousness"-New York Times). The Color Curtain is an indispensable work urging the removal of the color barrier. It remains one of the key commentaries on the question of race in the modern era. ("Truth-telling will perhaps always be unpopular and suspect, but in The Color Curtain, as in all his later nonfiction, Wright did not hesitate to tell the truth as he saw it."-Amritjit Singh, Ohio University)

Collects some fifty interviews, many of which are little known in the United States because they appeared in non-English European periodicals and newspapers. This collection reveals a serious, often didactic Wright, giving voice to his inarticulate brothers and sisters as he reveals his racially representative colonialism.