RICHARD WRIGHT

Biography  Life began in poverty  Father abandoned family at five  By 12, Wright’s mother could not support family Raised by various relations  Learned to survive on bitter ghetto streets  Had to borrow a white man’s library card to read  Fled to South at 20, explored Marxism  Joined Communist party for 12 years  Exiled himself to Paris for last 14 years of his life

Writing  exposed American racism to a large white audience  Achieved first real recognition from Native Son  Victimized black man accidentally kills a white woman, then murders again to avoid betrayal Never wrote another novel that equaled its success  Struggled to understand the historical and cultural place of African Americans in modern life  Travelled to Africa, recorded observations in Black Power and White Man, Listen!