Paule Marshall

From the acclaimed author of Daughters and Brown Girl, Brownstones comes a “work of exceptional wisdom, maturity, and generosity, one in which the palpable humanity of its characters transcends any considerations of race or sex”(Washington Post Book World). Avey Johnson—a black, middle-aged, middle-class widow given to hats, gloves, and pearls—has long since put behind her the Harlem of her childhood. Then on a cruise to the Caribbean with two friends, inspired by a troubling dream, she senses her life beginning to unravel—and in a panic packs her bag in the middle of the night and abandons her friends at the next port of call. The unexpected and beautiful adventure that follows provides Avey with the links to the culture and history she has so long disavowed. “Astonishingly moving.”—Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review

Praisesong for the Widow

Brown girl, brownstones

“Remarkable for its courage, its color and its natural control.”—The New Yorker “Unforgettable...written with pride and anger, with rebellion and tears.”—The Herald Tribune This beloved coming-of-age story set in Brooklyn during the Depression and World War II follows the life of Selina Boyce, a daughter of Barbadians immigrants. Her mother craves the American Dream while her father longs for his island birthplace. The new foreword by contemporary Caribbean author Edwidge Danticat explores the novel's themes of identity, sexuality and values as well as Selina's struggle against the racism and poverty surrounding her.

Brown Girl, Brownstones

Depicts the effect of an American research project on the inhabitants of a West Indian island

The Chosen Place, the Timeless People

A Novel

The Fisher King

Soul clap hands and sing

a memoir

Triangular road

Erica Vital-Lazare

Avey Johnson-a black, middle-aged, middle-class widow given to hats, gloves, and pearls-has long since put behind her the Harlem of her childhood. Then on a cruise to the Caribbean with two friends, inspired by a troubling dream, she senses her life beginning to unravel-and in a panic packs her bag in the middle of the night and abandons her friends at the next port of call. The unexpected and beautiful adventure that follows provides Avey with the links to the culture and history she has so long disavowed. Originally published in 1983, Praise Song for the Widow was a recipient of the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, and is presented here in a beautiful new hardcover edition. "Astonishingly moving." -Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review About Of the Diaspora: McSweeney's Of the Diaspora is a series of previously published works in Black literature whose themes, settings, characterizations, and conflicts evoke an experience, language, imagery and power born of the Middle Passage and the particular aesthetic which connects African-derived peoples to a shared artistic and ancestral past. Wesley Brown's Tragic Magic, the first novel in the series, was originally published in 1978 and championed by Toni Morrison during her tenure as an editor at Random House. This Of the Diaspora edition features a new introduction written by Brown for the series. Tragic Magic will be followed by Paule Marshall's novel of a Harlem widow claiming new life. Praisesong for the Widow was originally published in 1983 and was a recipient of the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award. The series is edited by writer Erica Vital-Lazare, a professor of creative writing and Marginalized Voices in literature at the College of Southern Nevada. Published in collectible hardcover editions with original cover art by Sunra Thompson, the first three works hail from Black American voices defined by what Amiri Baraka described as strong feeling "getting into new blues, from the old ones." Of the Diaspora-North America will be followed by series from the diasporic communities of Europe, the Caribbean and Brazil.

(of the Diaspora - North America)

Praise Song for the Widow

The first collection of interviews with the acclaimed African American/Afro-Caribbean author of Triangular Road; The Chosen Place, the Timeless People; and Brown Girl, Brownstones

Conversations with Paule Marshall

Old secrets and bitter memories are brought to light when a young boy travels to Brooklyn to honor his musical grandfather.

Soul Clap Hands and Sing

The story of a family that has ties both in New York and the Caribbean revolves around the introspective Ursa, who is starting a new life while sorting out her feelings about her past

Daughters

Various

Jamaica Kincaid

Eric Walrond

Sam Selvon

Jean Rhys

Kamau Brathwaite

Austin Clarke

Lorna Goodison

James Berry

Wayne Brown

Lawrence Scott

Andrew Salkey

Erna Brodber

Earl Lovelace

Makeda Silvera

Neil Bissoondath

Olive Senior

Roger Mais

Wilson Harris

Hazel D. Campbell

Willi Chen

Pauline Melville

Louise Bennett

Wilfred Wood

Kenneth Vidia Parmasad

Seepersad Naipaul

Claude MacKay

Frank Collymore

C... L. R. James

Garth St Omer

Vidiadhar Surajprashad Naipaul

N... D. Williams

Clyde Hosein

Alecia MacKenzie

Spanning the history of Caribbean writing, this meticulously compiled collection of 40 short stories includes pre-Columbian legends and myths from India and Africa, and many stories that are an evocative reminder of the turbulent history of the region. Authors featured include Andrew Salkey, Jean Rhys, V.S. Naipaul, Jamaica Kincaid, and Lawrence Scott, among others. A major anthology reflecting the diversity and richness of Caribbean writing.

The Penguin Book of Caribbean Short Stories

In Triangular Road, famed novelist Paule Marshall tells the story of her years as a fledgling young writer in the 1960s. A memoir of self-discovery, it also offers an affectionate tribute to the inimitable Langston Hughes, who entered Marshall's life during a crucial phase and introduced her to the world of European letters during a whirlwind tour of the continent funded by the State Department. In the course of her journeys to Europe, Barbados, and eventually Africa, Marshall comes to comprehend the historical enormity of the African diaspora, an understanding that fortifies her sense of purpose as a writer. In this unflinchingly honest memoir, Paule Marshall offers an indelible portrait of a young black woman coming of age as a novelist in a literary world dominated by white men.

Triangular Road

A Memoir

Stories deal with unfulfilled housewives, sexual harassment, a young servant girl who grows more self-aware, Black college women, a woman's visit to her grandmother in Barbados, and a Black revolutionary

Reena and Other Stories

Paule Marshall

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