- Keyword = African American literature
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IN SEARCH OF COLOR EVERYWHERE: A Collection of African-American Poetry.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Stewatt, Tabori & Chang, 1994. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - A lovely book, slightly oversized, illustrated by Terrance Cummings. The poems are arranged thematically, and so in the section on "Freedom" Henry Dumas's "Root Song" is followed by the 19th c poet, Frances E. W. Harper's "The Slave Auction." SIGNED by Al Young at his poem "A Dance for Ma Rainey." Index of title and of authors. 256 pp. ISBN: 1-556703392.
Condition: Very near fine in a like dustjacket.
Book ID: 84739More details Price: $50.00 -
ONCE TWO HEROES.
Edition: First printing.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 81094More details Price: $35.00 -
ONCE TWO HEROES.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Viking, (2003). Hardcover first edition - Young African American author's second novel, set in the aftermath of World War II. Two men, one an African American raised in France who enlists after his parents are killed trying to flee France, and the other a white Southerner from Mississippi, serve together during World War II only to confront the painful post-war realities of American racism. Mather is denied the Medal of Freedom because of his race, and after a futile visit to Washington DC, he is driving back to Los Angeles through Mississippi where a confrontation with a racist winds up with the white man's death, and his brother vowing revenge. 275 pp. Review copy with publisher's material laid in. ISBN: 0-67003164X.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 81093More details Price: $21.50 -
NAMING THE NEW WORLD.
Edition: First printing.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 82850More details Price: $50.00 -
JUST ABOVE MY HEAD
Edition: First printing.
New York: Dial Press, 1979. dj. Hardcover first edition - A complex novel following the story of three extraordinary individuals (including Sister Julia, a "fire-baptized" child evangelist called to the ministry when she was nine), through three decades, from Harlem to Paris to Birmingham. 597 pp,. ISBN: 0-803794772.
Condition: Very near fine burgundy boards with gold lettering in a like dustjacket (small spot on lower corner of textblock, one corner slighly bumped, small nicks to dj edges, but better condition than this thick book is usually found, original price of 12.95 still present)
Book ID: 84926More details Price: $65.00 -
GIOVANNI'S ROOM.
Edition: First thus- a pocket paperback.
New York: Signet, (1959). Baldwin's third book, second novel. Set in Paris this story of a love triangle is a major novel on the theme of homosexuality. Vintage paperback edition, Signetl S1559, cover price 35c. 144 pp.
Condition: Overall very good condition (usual toning to the pages, some rubbing to the covers.)
Book ID: 88774More details Price: $20.00 -
NOTES OF A NATIVE SON.
Edition: Trade paperback.
Boston: Beacon Press, (1963, c 1955.). Baldwin's second book, a collection of essays - his first non-fiction book, originally published in 1955. 175 pp,. ISBN: 0-8070-64319.
Condition: Very good (toning to covers)
Book ID: 88787More details Price: $12.50 -
THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN.
Edition: First edition.
New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1985. dj. Hardcover first edition - Baldwin uses the Wayne Williams/Atlanta child-murder case as the subject and the springboard for this thoughtful non-fiction work about justice - and the lack of it - for Blacks in America, and about guilt and innocence, fear and anger. 125 pp.. ISBN: 0-03-005529-6.
Condition: Fine in black boards with silver lettering on spine, in a very near fine dust jacket (some toning to the flaps of the dj, original price of 11.95 still present) .
Book ID: 84925More details Price: $85.00 -
TALKING AT THE GATES: A Life of James Baldwin.
Edition: Trade paperback.
New York: The Viking Press, (1991.). Photographs, notes, bibliography, index. 306 pgs.
Condition: Near fine in glossy illustrated wrappers (prev owner's name.)
Book ID: 39799More details Price: $9.00 -
GORILLA, MY LOVE.
Edition: 2nd printing.
New York: Random House, (1972) dj. A collection of fifteen short stories from New York City to small town North Carolina, stories of young girls growing up black, proud and in love. 177 pp. Uncommon in any original printings. ISBN: 0-394482018.
Condition: Very near fine in brown cloth with copper lettering in a very good dustjacket with some short edge tears, original price of 5.95 on dj flap.
Book ID: 88622More details Price: $24.50 -
DAUGHTER.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )
New York: Scribner, (2003.). First edition - A moving first novel by this African American poet and mother: Miriam finds her world shattered when her daughter is shot by a white police officer in a case of mistaken identity, a situation that forces her to confront her past, her identity - a novel 'that explores the perils of silence and illuminates the fragile complexity of the mother-daughter bond.'. 264 pp.
Condition: Fine in illustrated wrapppers.
Book ID: 76176More details Price: $20.00 -
TALES OF THE OUT & THE GONE. Short Stories.
Edition: First printing in wrappers. No hardcover edition.
New York: Akashic Books, (2007.). SIGNED first edition - A collection of short fiction, from the early 70's to the present, most not previously published: 'the first section of the book, "War Stories," offers six stories enmeshed in the volatile politics of the 1970s and 1980s. The second section, "Tales of the Out & the Gone," reveals Baraka's increasing literary adventurousness, combining an unpredictable language play with a passion for abstraction and psychological exploration.' Among his many honors, Baraka was the controversial "last" Poet Laureate of New Jersey and awarded the James Weldon Johnson medal for outstanding contribution to the arts. INSCRIBED on the half title page and dated 2/19/07, in the year of publication. 221 pp plus 2 pp of publisher's advertisements. ISBN: 1-933354127.
Condition: Fine (a new copy) in illustrated wrappers with self-flaps.
Book ID: 38147More details Price: $45.00 -
THE SIDNEY POET HEROICAL in 29 Scenes.
Edition: First printing, a trade paperback, not issued in hardcover.
New York: I. Reed Books, (1979.). First edition - A rather strange political play by this African-American poet and playwright - Sidney Poet is "a strong black dude" who came from the West Indies to make it as actor. 106 pp. Cover by C, K. Conridge. ISBN: 0-918408-121.
Condition: Fine in illustrated wrappers (a new copy.)
Book ID: 50696More details Price: $19.50 -
DEATH IS A FORM OF IGNORANCE: Mixed Media.
Edition: First printing.
Condition: Fine in stapled, glossy illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 55066More details Price: $48.50 -
CONFIRMATION: Anthology of African American Women.
Edition: First printing, a trade paperback, issued simultaneously with hardcover.
Condition: Very good overall in black illustrated wrappers - usual light toning to the pages, some wear to covers, including a reading crease on front cover, but a tight, straight and clean copy.
Book ID: 88697More details Price: $35.00 -
CAPTAIN CHARLES STUART, Anglo-American Abolitionist
Edition: First printing.
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1986. Hardcover first edition - The first full-length study of this little known and controversial figure - the only man to be employed as an agent of anti-slavery societies on both continents. Includes bibliography, index.
Condition: F/F.
Book ID: 6043More details Price: $30.00 -
THE ROAD TO MAKOKOTA.
Edition: First printing.
San Francisco: MacAdam / Cage, (2004.) dj. Hardcover first edition - First novel by this African American writer, set in a war-torn former British colony in West Africa, this is based, in part, on his Peace Corps experience in Sierra Leone. Described as a 'harrowing and compelling' debut. 202 pp. ISBN: 1931561605.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 46112More details Price: $20.00 -
FROM A PERSON SITTING IN DARKNESS: New and Selected Poems.
Edition: First printing.
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1998. dj. Hardcover first edition - The fifth book by this highly praised African American poet, one which collects 104 poems, including 18 new poems. A title in the Southern Messenger Poets series. xiii, 101 pp. ISBN: 0-807123137.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 68302More details Price: $65.00 -
BLACK TIME: Fiction of Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States.
Edition: First printing.
New Haven and London: Yale University Press, (1981) dj. Hardcover first edition - In addition to giving an historical perspective and discussing themes found in works by Black authors, this focuses on representive novels by seven writers - Chinua Achebe, George Lamming, Jean Toomer, William Attaway, Toni Morrison, Ayi Kweh Armah and Wole Soyinka. Works cited, index. x, 209 pp. ISBN: 0-300025734.
Condition: Fine in a very near fine dustjacket (crinkling to top of spine)
Book ID: 81282More details Price: $30.00 -
QUEEN SUGAR.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )
New York: Pamela Dorman Books / Viking, (2014). First edition - The author's first novel, a story of complicated family relationships. When a young African American California woman unexpectedly inherits a sugarcane farm in southern Louisiana, she sees this as a chance to start over. She moves there with her 11 year old daughter determined to succeed, despite a mountain of debt and no idea what she is really getting into. Book was very loosely adapted as the basis for the highly praised Ava DuVernay produced television series for the Oprah Winfrey Network. 372 pp.
Condition: Fine in illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 79466More details Price: $21.50 -
SEEDS BENEATH THE SNOW: Vignettes from the South.
Edition: First thus - book was originally self-published in 1969.
Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1975. dj. Hardcover first edition - Twelve short stories or character sketches describing African-American life in a rural and passing South. 146 pp. ISBN: 0-88258-0469.
Condition: Fair condition only in a very good dust jacket (some crinkling and dampstaining to the lower corner of the textblock, mottling to the bottom edge of the rear board, peeled spot on spine of dj)
Book ID: 82663More details Price: $17.50 -
SEEDS BENEATH THE SNOW: Vignettes from the South.
Edition: First thus - book was originally self-published in 1969.
Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1975. dj. Hardcover first edition - Twelve short stories or character sketches describing African-American life in a rural and passing South. 146 pp. ISBN: 0-88258-0469.
Condition: Very near fine in a very good dustjacket (price-clipped)
Book ID: 40266More details Price: $24.50 -
THE WHITE BOY SHUFFLE.
Edition: Trade paperback.
New York: Picador, (1997). First novel by this African American poet - a funny and moving satire on issues of race, life in Los Angeles, and the coming of age story of Gunnar Kaufman, who is not typical in any way. Praise from such writers as Walter Mosley, Clarence Major and Jessica Hagedorn. 225 pp. ISBN: 0-312-28019X.
Condition: Good only (notes inside front cover and on last page, usual toning to the pages)
Book ID: 65781More details Price: $9.50 -
HOPE AND GLORY.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )
New York: Morrow (imprint of Harper Collins), (2022). First edition - The first novel by this British-Nigerian author, the story of a previously close Nigerian immigrant family that is beginning to fall apart and a daughter's attempt to find out why. 386 pp.
Condition: Very near fine in illustrated wrappers (upper corner slightly bumped).
Book ID: 88066More details Price: $18.50 -
THE HAUNTING OF HIP HOP.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Doubleday, (2001) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - In ancient West Africa, the drum was more than a musical instrument, it was a vehicle of communication-it conveyed information, told stories, and passed on the wisdom of generations. A novel which is a reminder of the importance of honoring the past as a means of moving safely and firmly into the future, one which will stir up controversy about the impact, good and bad, of rap culture. Boldly INSCRIBED on the title page. 210 pp. ISBN: 0-385498454.
Condition: Near fine in near fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 83755More details Price: $28.50 -
PROMISELAND: A Century of Life in a Negro Community
Edition: First printing.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1981. Hardcover first edition - The story of a rural community in South Carolina founded in 1870 as a settlement of black farmers, tenants and sharecroppers. 329 pgs, including extensive notes, an essay on sources and methodology and an index.
Condition: VG/VG.
Book ID: 7446More details Price: $25.00 -
RED, WHITE & BLACK: Race Relations in Britain.
Edition: First printing.
London: Gordon & Cremonesi, 1976. dj. Hardcover first edition - A look at what is necessary to create racial harmony by a former member of Parliament. Introduction by Michael Foot. Illustrated with photographs.
Condition: Near fine in a good dustjacket (large chip on front cover, creasing to front flap, other edgewear.)
Book ID: 12840More details Price: $28.00 -
TEMPLE FOLK: Stories.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Simon & Schuster, (2023) dj. Hardcover first edition - The author's first book, a collection of ten short stories shortlisted for the National Book award, which noted hat "the characters in [these] stories are forced to reckon with conflicts between religion and independence. . . Bilal compassionately unfurls the inner lives of her protagonists, examining the complex contradictions of the Black Muslim experience in America." 238 pp.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket (a new copy.)
Book ID: 88133More details Price: $45.00 -
MY BROTHER'S KEEPER.
Edition: First printing, a trade paperback, not issued in hardcover.
Oklahoma City: Paradigm Publishing, (2001.). SIGNED first edition - A novel of family violence, of the scars it leaves on the children, and of forgiveness. INSCRIBED by the author on the first page. Promotional card laid in. ISBN: 0-708620-32.
Condition: Fine (a new copy)
Book ID: 29616More details Price: $20.00 -
DON'T CRY FOR ME.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )
Toronto: Hanover Square Press, (2022). First edition - Novel by this award-winning writer, a letter from a father, dying of cancer, to his long-estranged gay son. Although they had not spoken in many years, he wants Isaac to know about his ancestral legacy in Arkansas, and the complicated relationship with Isaac's mother. A moving story of love and reconciliation and a plea for understanding. 301 pp.
Condition: Fine in illustrated wrappers. An uncommon advance issue.
Book ID: 88234More details Price: $20.00