New York: Cane Hill Press, (1994.). First edition - The author's second novel (he has also written screenplays, edited anthologies) - from the back cover: 'The story of Jim Crow, a remarkable black dancer, born in slavery, who performs in minstrel shows, South & North, during the furious times of pre- & post-Civil War America. His experiences, onstage and off, are a mix of applause with mob violence, of love & loss, played against the grim laughter of a black nation within a nation finding its way to an ever-elusive promised freedom. Touching, harrowing, inspiring, this is a unique novel of pride and courage. Cover praise from Russell Banks, among others - he called this 'a scary book, and mordantly funny, too'. 224 pp. ISBN: 0-943433-118.

Seattle and New York: Wave Books, (2016). SIGNED - Black poet's second book, one which "weaves sonnet, song, and narrative to examine the lives of mostly unrecorded African American performers directly before and after the Civil War up to World War I" from the Jubilee Singers to Blind Tom to Sissieretta Jones, Edmonia Lewis and many others. The citation for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize cited it as "a distinctive work that melds performance art with the deeper art of poetry to explore collective memory and challenge contemporary notions of race and identity." INSCRIBED by Jess on the title page. Illustrated with drawings and photographs. Includes a timeline and bibliography. Large square format. 235 pp. ISBN: 978-1940696201.

New York: Childrens Press, (1963.). Hardcover first edition - A history of the traveling theater groups written for older children and illustrated with woodcuts by Carol Rogers. Includes the stories of Annie Oakley, Tom Rice and Ralph Keeler with their Minstrel shows, showboats on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and more. A title in the Frontiers of America series. 128 pp.