{"product_id":"harlem-shadows-isbn-9780593242681","title":"Harlem Shadows","description":"\u003cb\u003eA harbinger of the Harlem Renaissance first published in 1922, this collection of poignant, lyrical poems explores Claude McKay’s yearning for his Jamaican homeland and the bitter plight of Black and African Caribbean people in America—now with an introduction by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Jericho Brown. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022—\u003ci\u003eVulture\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith pure heart, passion, and honesty, Claude McKay offers an acute reflection on the complex nature of racial identity in the Caribbean diaspora, encompassing issues such as nationalism, freedom of expression, class, gender, and sex. The collection’s eponymous poem, “Harlem Shadows,” portrays the struggle of sex workers in 1920s Harlem. In “If We Must Die,” McKay calls for justice and retribution for Black people in the face of racist abuse. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJuxtaposing the cacophony of New York City with the serene beauty of Jamaica, McKay urges us to reckon with the oppression that plagues a “long-suffering race,” who he argues has no home in a white man’s world. Poems of Blackness, queerness, desire, performance, and love are infused with a radical message of resistance in this sonorous cry for universal human rights. Simultaneously a love letter to the spirit of New York City and an indictment of its harsh cruelty, \u003ci\u003eHarlem Shadows \u003c\/i\u003eis a stunning collection that remains all too relevant one hundred years after its original publication.\u003cb\u003eClaude McKay \u003c\/b\u003e(1889–1948) was a Jamaican-born writer, poet, and political activist. His first novel, \u003ci\u003eHome to Harlem, \u003c\/i\u003ea bestseller that won the Harmon Gold Award for Literature, was published in 1928. He wrote seven novels, two memoirs, short stories, poetry, and an essay collection entitled \u003ci\u003eHarlem: Negro Metropolis\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eHarlem Shadows \u003c\/i\u003ewas among the first books published during the Harlem Renaissance.\u003cb\u003eHarlem Shadows\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI hear the halting footsteps of a lass \u003cbr\u003e        In Negro Harlem when the night lets fall \u003cbr\u003eIts veil. I see the shapes of girls who pass \u003cbr\u003e        To bend and barter at desire’s call. \u003cbr\u003eAh, little dark girls who in slippered feet \u003cbr\u003eGo prowling through the night from street to street! \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003eThrough the long night until the silver break \u003cbr\u003e        Of day the little gray feet know no rest; \u003cbr\u003eThrough the lone night until the last snow-flake \u003cbr\u003e        Has dropped from heaven upon the earth’s white breast, \u003cbr\u003eThe dusky, half-clad \u003cbr\u003egirls of tired feet \u003cbr\u003eAre trudging, thinly shod, from street to street. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003eAh, stern harsh world, that in the wretched way \u003cbr\u003e        Of poverty, dishonor and disgrace, \u003cbr\u003eHas pushed the timid little feet of clay, \u003cbr\u003e        The sacred brown feet of my fallen race! \u003cbr\u003eAh, heart of me, the weary, weary feet \u003cbr\u003eIn Harlem wandering from street to street.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEnslaved\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOh when I think of my long-suffering race,\u003cbr\u003eFor weary centuries despised, oppressed,\u003cbr\u003eEnslaved and lynched, denied a human place\u003cbr\u003eIn the great life line of the Christian West;\u003cbr\u003eAnd in the Black Land disinherited,\u003cbr\u003eRobbed in the ancient country of its birth, \u003cbr\u003eMy heart grows sick with hate, becomes as lead,\u003cbr\u003eFor this my race that has no home on earth.\u003cbr\u003eThen from the dark depths of my soul I cry\u003cbr\u003eTo the avenging angel to consume\u003cbr\u003eThe white man's world of wonders utterly:\u003cbr\u003eLet it be swallowed up in earth's vast womb,\u003cbr\u003eOr upward roll as sacrificial smoke\u003cbr\u003eTo liberate my people from its yoke!  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Barrier\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI must not gaze at them although\u003cbr\u003e Your eyes are dawning day;\u003cbr\u003e     I must not watch you as you go \u003cbr\u003e You sun-illuminated way;\u003cbr\u003e     I hear but I must never heed\u003cbr\u003e The fascinating note,\u003cbr\u003e     Which, fluting like a river reed,\u003cbr\u003e Comes from your trembling throat;\u003cbr\u003e     I must not see upon your face\u003cbr\u003e Love's softly glowing spark;\u003cbr\u003e     For there's the barrier of race,\u003cbr\u003e You're fair and I am dark.Introduction by Pulitzer Prize winner Jericho Brown; Centenary edition","brand":"Modern Library","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301609787621,"sku":"NP9780593242681","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593242681.jpg?v=1767728724","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/harlem-shadows-isbn-9780593242681","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}