Introduction

Abstract

For years, Richard Wright has been known as the writer of Native Son and Black Boy. These powerful classics have helped shape the twentieth-century African American literary tradition, but the study of Wright’s oeuvre needs to go beyond these seminal works to encompass his other writings, especially the rich and varied works of his later years. Though it does not ignore his best-known works by any means, this collection is the first to focus on this later body of works. Richard Wright: New Readings in the 21^st Century offers fresh approaches to Wright’s work for new times. It traces and gives far-reaching analyses of his creative direction as he reached beyond the safe boundaries and successes of the early works, which largely define his legacy today.