The Wright stuff
The 100th anniversary of Richard Wright’s birth – Sept. 4, 1908 – kicks off festivities of different kinds all over the country, but Cornellians can stay close to home and still celebrate the seminal African-American author.
Cornell University Library has a wealth of Wright’s work. Multiple copies of his best-known books, such as “Black Boy” and “Native Son,” line the shelves at the John Henrik Clarke Africana and Uris libraries, among others. Africana and Olin both have copies of “A Father’s Law,” one of Wright’s unfinished books that his daughter published posthumously in January of this year. Olin also has a wealth of analysis on Wright, as well as some of his lesser-known short stories and travel writing, and Rare and Manuscript Collections in Kroch Library has a 1951 poster advertising the film version of “Native Son.”
Cornell has a more personal connection to the author as well. Dan McCall, professor emeritus of American studies, wrote a critical study of Wright called “The Example of Richard Wright” in 1969 that is still in print – and available at the library. Check out CUL’s catalog for more titles by and about Richard Wright.