Book contents
- Richard Wright in Context
- Richard Wright in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Richard Wright’s Works: A Chronology
- Introduction Richard Wright’s Luck
- Part I Life and Career, Times and Places
- Part II Social and Cultural Contexts
- Part III Literary and Intellectual Contexts
- Chapter 17 Chicago Sociology
- Chapter 18 1930s Proletarian Fiction
- Chapter 19 The Blues in Print
- Chapter 20 Realism and Modernism, Solipsism and Solidarity
- Chapter 21 The Literary Mainstream: Story and the Book-of-the-Month Club
- Chapter 22 Wright, Psychoanalysis, and Fredric Wertham’s Reading of Hamlet
- Chapter 23 Wright’s Black Boy in Context
- Chapter 24 Wright and Women Authors
- Chapter 25 Existentialism
- Chapter 26 Wright and Les Temps Modernes
- Chapter 27 Wright and Postcolonial Thought
- Chapter 28 Modern Poetry and Haiku
- Part IV Reputation and Critical Reception
- Index
Chapter 21 - The Literary Mainstream: Story and the Book-of-the-Month Club
from Part III - Literary and Intellectual Contexts
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 July 2021
- Richard Wright in Context
- Richard Wright in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Richard Wright’s Works: A Chronology
- Introduction Richard Wright’s Luck
- Part I Life and Career, Times and Places
- Part II Social and Cultural Contexts
- Part III Literary and Intellectual Contexts
- Chapter 17 Chicago Sociology
- Chapter 18 1930s Proletarian Fiction
- Chapter 19 The Blues in Print
- Chapter 20 Realism and Modernism, Solipsism and Solidarity
- Chapter 21 The Literary Mainstream: Story and the Book-of-the-Month Club
- Chapter 22 Wright, Psychoanalysis, and Fredric Wertham’s Reading of Hamlet
- Chapter 23 Wright’s Black Boy in Context
- Chapter 24 Wright and Women Authors
- Chapter 25 Existentialism
- Chapter 26 Wright and Les Temps Modernes
- Chapter 27 Wright and Postcolonial Thought
- Chapter 28 Modern Poetry and Haiku
- Part IV Reputation and Critical Reception
- Index
Summary
This chapter adopts a book history approach to account for Richard Wright’s steep rise to popular success and critical recognition, mapping the unexpected way Wright became a published author. In keeping with the discipline’s interest for editorial mediators, it reviews Wright’s trajectory from a minor poet and radical artist to a best-selling author by focusing on publication outlets -- from left-wing reviews to mainstream editorial institutions -- and by determining the triggers of this evolution, namely the Story magazine prize and the Book-of-the-Month Club selections. Following book history’s curiosity for the political, social, and cultural context in which books come to be published and circulated, the chapter then sheds light on confrontations and compromises found in the correspondence with editorial authorities, such as his publisher and the book club judges. Such negotiations allowed for the broadened readership Wright was able to reach out to, across racial lines and national boundaries. The editorial history of Wright’s early career thus illuminates the making of a best-selling African American author.
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- Richard Wright in Context , pp. 225 - 235Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021