Claude McKay

Although he is recognized today as one of the genuine pioneers of black literature in this century -- the author of "If We Must Die," Home to Harlem, Banana Bottom, and A Long Way from Home, among other works -- Claude McKay (1890–1948) died penniless and almost forgotten in a Chicago hospital. In this masterly study, Wayne Cooper presents a fascinating, detailed account of McKay's complex, often chaotic, and frequently contradictory life. In his poetry and fiction, as well as in his political and social commentaries, McKay searched for a solid foundation for a valid black identity among the…