Happy April everyone! This month, we will be reading HARLEM RHAPSODY by Victoria Christopher Murray.
About the group: we are a group of nonjudgmental readers who like to talk all things books. Please attend even if you did not finish the book or did not enjoy it. All are welcome!
About the space: We meet at Unscrewed Theater's training room. Follow the signs! Feel free to bring food or drink for yourself or to share.
About the fee: due to increased host fees, this event has a fee to attend. If you don't want to use Meetup's PayPal system, please message me and we can sort out a Venmo/cash system.
Please message me with any questions/comments/concerns. Happy reading!
About the book (via Goodreads):
The extraordinary story of Jessie Redmon Fauset whose exhilarating world of friends, rivals, and passions all combined to create the magic that was the Harlem Renaissance, written by Victoria Christopher Murray, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian.
In 1919, as civil and social unrest grips the country, there is a little corner of America, a place called Harlem where something special is stirring. Here, the New Negro is rising and Black pride is evident everywhere…in music, theatre, fashion and the arts. And there on stage in the center of this renaissance is Jessie Redmon Fauset, the new literary editor of the preeminent Negro magazine The Crisis.
W.E.B. Du Bois, the founder and editor of The Crisis, has charged her with discovering young writers whose words will change the world. Jessie attacks the challenge with fervor, quickly finding sixteen-year-old Countee Cullen, seventeen-year-old Langston Hughes, and Nella Larsen, who becomes one of her best friends. Under Jessie’s leadership, The Crisis thrives, the writers become notable and magazine subscriptions soar. Every Negro writer in the country wants their work published in the magazine now known for its groundbreaking poetry and short stories.
Jessie’s rising star is shining bright….but her relationship with W.E.B. could jeopardize all that she’s built. The man, considered by most to be the leader of Black America, is not only Jessie’s boss, he’s her lover. And neither his wife, nor their fourteen-year-age difference can keep the two apart. Their torrid and tumultuous affair is complicated by a secret desire that Jessie harbors — to someday, herself, become the editor of the magazine, a position that only W.E.B. Du Bois has held.
In the face of overwhelming sexism and racism, Jessie must balance her drive with her desires. However, as she strives to preserve her legacy, she’ll discover the high cost of her unparalleled success.
Please research any content warnings if you have any reading sensitivities. This is a good place to start: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/99a05902-1af0-4001-a63a-fd5882475958
