Penguin Random House, author portrait placeholder image

Wallace Thurman

Wallace Thurman (1902–1934), a novelist, essayist, editor, and playwright of the Harlem Renaissance, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and moved to Harlem in 1925. In 1926 he became the editor of the socialist journal The Messenger, where he published the early stories of Langston Hughes. He left The Messenger later that year to co-found the literary magazine Fire!! along with Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, among others. The Blacker the Berry . . . , his first novel, was published in 1929; he wrote two other novels, Infants of the Spring and The Interne, and a play, Harlem

Allyson Hobbs (introduction) is an associate professor in the department of history and the director of African and African American studies at Stanford. Her first book, A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life, won the Frederick Jackson Turner Award for best first book in American history and the Lawrence Levine Award for best book in American cultural history, both from the Organization of American Historians. Hobbs is a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians and a contributor to newyorker.com and The New York Times Book Review.
The Blacker the Berry . . .
The Messenger Reader

Books

The Blacker the Berry . . .
The Messenger Reader

Get Inspired! Books for After-School Clubs & Activities

Coordinating after-school clubs and activities in your school community? Explore our collection of books that will help students discover their passion for new (and screen-free!) hobbies. Focusing on topics such as art, board games, crafting, cooking, nature, sports, and more—these books are bound to spark imagination and movement. Browse the middle school and high school

Read more