James Weldon Johnson's landmark novel is an emotionally gripping and poignant look into race relations. The protagonist, a half-white half-black man of very light complexion, known only as an ex-colored man, makes a choice between his heritage and the art that he loves and the ability to escape the inherent racism that he faces by passing as a white. Because of his knowledge of both cultures he is able to give us startling revaluations into both cultures.

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic, timeless works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

The Book of American Negro Poetry (1922) is an anthology by James Weldon Johnson. Alongside some of his own poems, Johnson includes the work of such legendary artists as Paul Laurence Dunbar, W. E. B. Du Bois, Jessie Fauset, and Georgia Douglas Johnson. Carefully selected and supported with a masterful preface by Johnson, the poems herein reflect a range of voices, styles, and subjects drawn from tradition and experience alike. In his preface, Johnson justifies his anthology by identifying its vital purpose: "The public, generally speaking, does not know that there are American Negro poets-to supply this lack of information is, alone, a work worthy of somebody's effort." And the effort was his. In his poem "O Black and Unknown Bards," he asks "O black and unknown bards of long ago, / How came your lips to touch the sacred fire?" Recognizing the need for a reconciliation between the long tradition of black culture and the overwhelming erasure of his own contemporary artists, Johnson highlights the efforts of those poets who "Within [their] dark-kept soul[s], burst into song." Like Johnson himself, many of the poets included in The Book of American Negro Poetry work in a variety of voices, moving expertly from dialect to the traditional lyric in poems that harness the spirit of song and sermon alike. To borrow the words of Joseph S. Cotter Jr., a poet included in this anthology, these poems are elemental in their power to rejuvenate an exclusive national culture, and they "Rise and fall triumphant / Over every thing." With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of James Weldon Johnson's The Book of American Negro Poetry is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Fifty Years and Other Poems (1917) is a collection of poems by James Weldon Johnson. Although less popular than his book God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (1927), Johnson's second poetry collection showcases his talents as a rising star of African American literature. Including some poems that would be featured in The Book of American Negro Poetry (1922), an influential anthology compiled and edited by the poet himself, Fifty Years and Other Poems remains essential to Johnson's legacy as a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance. "Fifty Years" opens the collection with an ode to emancipation, a starting point from which millions of men, women, and children were given the opportunity, however fragile it was, to pursue better lives. Rather than give thanks for freedom granted, however, Johnson implores his fellow Black Americans to remain proud, assured that liberty is their hard-earned right: "This land is ours by right of birth, / This land is ours by right of toil; / We helped to turn its virgin earth, / Our sweat is in its fruitful soil." Hopeful and resilient, Johnson reflects on his own place in this history of struggle, paying particular heed to his status as a poet, his ability to sing despite centuries of violent oppression. In his poem "O Black and Unknown Bards," he asks "O black and unknown bards of long ago, / How came your lips to touch the sacred fire?" Recognizing the need for a reconciliation between the long tradition of black culture and the overwhelming erasure of his own contemporary artists, Johnson highlights the efforts of those poets such as himself, who "Within [their] dark-kept soul[s], burst into song." >With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of James Weldon Johnson's Fifty Years and Other Poems is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Book of American Negro Poetry (1922) is an anthology by James Weldon Johnson. Alongside some of his own poems, Johnson includes the work of such legendary artists as Paul Laurence Dunbar, W. E. B. Du Bois, Jessie Fauset, and Georgia Douglas Johnson. Carefully selected and supported with a masterful preface by Johnson, the poems herein reflect a range of voices, styles, and subjects drawn from tradition and experience alike. In his preface, Johnson justifies his anthology by identifying its vital purpose: "The public, generally speaking, does not know that there are American Negro poets-to supply this lack of information is, alone, a work worthy of somebody's effort." And the effort was his. In his poem "O Black and Unknown Bards," he asks "O black and unknown bards of long ago, / How came your lips to touch the sacred fire?" Recognizing the need for a reconciliation between the long tradition of black culture and the overwhelming erasure of his own contemporary artists, Johnson highlights the efforts of those poets who "Within [their] dark-kept soul[s], burst into song." Like Johnson himself, many of the poets included in The Book of American Negro Poetry work in a variety of voices, moving expertly from dialect to the traditional lyric in poems that harness the spirit of song and sermon alike. To borrow the words of Joseph S. Cotter Jr., a poet included in this anthology, these poems are elemental in their power to rejuvenate an exclusive national culture, and they "Rise and fall triumphant / Over every thing." With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of James Weldon Johnson's The Book of American Negro Poetry is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

A gifted musician's decision to navigate society as a white man causes an internal debate about anti-blackness and the explicit nature of intent versus impact. James Weldon Johnson presents a distinct conflict driven by a person's desires and overwhelming fear. The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man follows the story of an unnamed narrator and his unique experience as a fair-skinned Black person. As a child, he is initially unaware of his race, but his mother soon clarifies their family's ancestry. The young man's ability to pass for white allows him to negate the harsh and discriminatory treatment most Black people face. This leads to a series of events that significantly shape the way he views his place in society. James Weldon Johnson delivers a captivating tale of identity politics in the U.S. and abroad. The main character is living a life of omission that provides public gain at a personal cost. This story maintains its relevance as a critical examination of race in society. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is both modern and readable.

A gifted musician's decision to navigate society as a white man causes an internal debate about anti-blackness and the explicit nature of intent versus impact. James Weldon Johnson presents a distinct conflict driven by a person's desires and overwhelming fear. The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man follows the story of an unnamed narrator and his unique experience as a fair-skinned Black person. As a child, he is initially unaware of his race, but his mother soon clarifies their family's ancestry. The young man's ability to pass for white allows him to negate the harsh and discriminatory treatment most Black people face. This leads to a series of events that significantly shape the way he views his place in society. James Weldon Johnson delivers a captivating tale of identity politics in the U.S. and abroad. The main character is living a life of omission that provides public gain at a personal cost. This story maintains its relevance as a critical examination of race in society. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is both modern and readable.

James Weldon Johnson's The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is a powerful, trailblazing novel that exposes the intricate relationship between race and class in late nineteenth-century America. Complete & Unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is introduced by Dr Sam Halliday. After losing his mother at a very young age, the narrator is thrust from his comfortable, middle-class environment, afforded by his distant but aristocratic father, into the wider world. His passion for music begins in Georgia's all-black church community and takes him from New York, where he plays ragtime for a rich white gentleman, to the South, where he witnesses lynchings and out of fear gives up his passion, as well as his race, to pass for white. Relevant to this day, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is an unflinching account of black experience in America.

The two volumes edited by Dr Wilson, Director of the John Memorial Foundation, make an important body of Johnson's writings more readily available to scholars in African-American studies. Volume I comprises editorials from "The New York Age" organized thematically, and a critical introduction discusses Johnson's role in the history of the black press.

Masked in the tradition of the literary confession as practiced by such writers as St. Augustine and Rousseau, this "autobiography" purports to be the candid account of its narrator's private views and feelings as well as an acknowledgement of the central secret of his life: that though he lives as a white man, he is, by heritage and experience, an African American. Tracing his journey from the South to the North and from America to Europe and back again, the narrator's first hand experiences on both sides of the colourline intimately demonstrates the qualities of race that are both established yet mutable. An important exploration into identity and how to establish it, Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man is a timeless and vital novel.

Introduced by Maya Angelou, the inspiring sermon-poems of James Weldon Johnson James Weldon Johnson was a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and one of the most revered African Americans of all time, whose life demonstrated the full spectrum of struggle and success. In God's Trombones, one of his most celebrated works, inspirational sermons of African American preachers are reimagined as poetry, reverberating with the musicality and splendid eloquence of the spirituals. This classic collection includes Listen Lord (A Prayer), The Creation, The Prodigal Son, Go Down Death (A Funeral Sermon), Noah Built the Ark, The Crucifixion, Let My People Go, and The Judgment Day. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

First published in 1912, Johnson’s pioneering fictional “memoir” is an unprecedented analysis of the social causes and artistic consequences of a black man’s denial of his heritage.