Nigger Heaven (National Poetry Series) (Paperback)

by Carl Van Vechten (Author) "Mary Love closed the door softly behind her, shutting out the brassy blare of the band playing on the floor below, crossed the room, and..." (more)
Key Phrases: happy dust, coloured girl, coloured people, New York, Miss Melanctha, Randolph Pettijohn (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"One of the best-selling novels of the Harlem Renaissance ... [this volume has been] out of print for much of the past seventy years... Van Vechten has long been a subject of fervid debate... He was committed to black achievement and creativity but also to the idea that that creativity and achievement only take certain, often racially exaggerated, forms... It seems increasingly incongruous that one of the era's most controversial texts should remain under wraps. 'We're ready now." -- Casey Greenfield, Lingua Franca

Product Description
No other contemporary novel received the volume and intensity of criticism and curiosity that greeted "Nigger Heaven" upon its publication in 1926. Carl Van Vechten's novel generated a storm of controversy because of its scandalous title and fed an insatiable hunger on the part of the reading public for material relating to the black culture of Harlem's jazz clubs, cabarets, and social events. 'The book and not the title is the thing', James Weldon Johnson insisted with regard to "Nigger Heaven", and the book is indeed a nuanced and vibrant portrait of 'the great black walled city' of Harlem. Opening on a scene of tawdry sensationalism, "Nigger Heaven" shifts decisively to a world of black middle-class respectability, defined by intellectual values, professional ambition, and an acute consciousness of class and racial identity.Here is a Harlem where upper-class elites discuss art in well-appointed drawing rooms; rowdy and lascivious drunks spend long nights in jazz clubs and speakeasies; and, politically conscious young intellectuals drink coffee and debate 'the race problem' in walk-up apartments. At the center of the story, two young people - a quiet, serious librarian and a volatile aspiring writer - struggle to love each other as their dreams are slowly suffocated by racism. This reissue is based on the seventh printing, which included poetry composed by Langston Hughes especially for the book. Kathleen Pfeiffer's astute introduction investigates the controversy surrounding the shocking title and shows how the novel functioned in its time as a site to contest racial violence. She also signals questions of racial authenticity and racial identity raised by a novel about black culture written by a white admirer of that culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press; 1 edition (December 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252068602
• ISBN-13: 978-0252068607
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #591,791 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Negro Heaven, April 5, 2000

By	lucky "luckyboys" (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews

Van Vechten's work, which gained its title from an old slang reffering to the back of the theatre, illuminated the complexity of "white Negrophilia" at a historical moment in which "white reconnaissance missions" to Harlem were becoming more popular. Ultimately, Nigger Heaven served not only "as a test-case for black attitudes about white Negrophilia," it also stood as a touchstone for the economic crisis facing black publishing. The publishing of Nigger Heaven signaled the importance of fostering Black literary venues and raised significant questions for Harlem Renaissance writers as to their audience, their tradition, and their relations within a community.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nigger Heaven, May 8, 2008

By	Janice Hopf-nelson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have not had the opportunity to read this book. I am interested in understanding what all the controversy was about when this was first published during the Harlem Renaissance.

13 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Silly title, mediocre book, April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This book is a re-release of a book written during the Harlem Renaissance. There will much debate when the re-release hits shelves, just like when it first came out. The problem is, it's only a mediocre book. The author used the title to garner attention; unfortunately the book isn't good enough to warrant it. It's only a decent read at best. But, I would recommend reading it if for no other reason than so that you can know what everyone is talking about when the fireworks begin.