Negro: An Anthology, Vol. 1 » (ABR)

This is the abridged edition of Nancy Cunard's classic collection. First published in 1934 and mostly neglected in Cunard's own time, Negro has attained the status of a cult classic. The list of contributors - represented in poetry, prose, translations, and music - is a who's who of 20th-century arts and literature: Louis Armstrong, Samuel Beckett, Norman Douglas, Nancy Cunard herself, Theodore Dreiser, W. E. B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, William Plomer, Arthur Schomburg, William Carlos Williams, and more. In its subject and international approach, Negro was generations ahead of its time. Its exploration of black achievement and black anger takes the reader from life in America to the West Indies, South America, Europe, and Africa. Though very much of its time, Negro is also timeless in its depiction of oppressive social and political conditions as well as in its homage to myriad contributions by black artists and thinkers.

Library Journal

In 1934, Nancy Cunard self-published this volume in an edition of 1000 copies through her Hours Press. She was an odd source considering she was a wealthy white Englishwoman. Nonetheless, the volume was very well respected. Chapters in the book cover "Slavery," "Patterns of Negro Life and Expression," "Negro History and Literature," "Education and Law," and more. Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, William Carlos Williams, Samuel Becket, and others contributed to the text. A solid title for any collection and an especially good choice for the upcoming Black History Month in February.