New York Times Bestseller One of the Best Books of 2021 by Time magazine, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe and Esquire, and one of Oprah’s 15 Favorite Books of the Year “The Man Who Lived Underground reminds us that any ‘greatest writers of the 20th century’ list that doesn’t start and end with Richard Wright is laughable. It might very well be Wright’s most brilliantly crafted, and ominously foretelling, book.” —Kiese Laymon A major literary event: an explosive, previously unpublished novel about race and violence in America by the legendary author of Native Son and Black Boy Fred Daniels, a Black man, is picked up by the police after a brutal double murder and tortured until he confesses to a crime he did not commit. After signing a confession, he escapes from custody and flees into the city’s sewer system. This is the devastating premise of this scorching novel, a never-before-seen masterpiece by Richard Wright. Written between his landmark books Native Son (1940) and Black Boy (1945), at the height of his creative powers, it would see publication in Wright's lifetime only in drastically condensed and truncated form, and ultimately be included in the posthumous short story collection Eight Men. Now, for the first time, by special arrangement with the author’s estate, the full text of the work that meant more to Wright than any other (“I have never written anything in my life that stemmed more from sheer inspiration”) is published in the form that he intended, complete with his companion essay, “Memories of My Grandmother.” Malcolm Wright, the author’s grandson, contributes an afterword.

Richard Wright's powerful account of his journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. It is at once an unashamed confession and a profound indictment--a poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human suffering. When Black Boy exploded onto the literary scene in 1945, it caused a sensation. Orville Prescott of the New York Times wrote that “if enough such books are written, if enough millions of people read them maybe, someday, in the fullness of time, there will be a greater understanding and a more true democracy.” Opposing forces felt compelled to comment: addressing Congress, Senator Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi argued that the purpose of this book “was to plant seeds of hate and devilment in the minds of every American.” From 1975 to 1978, Black Boy was banned in schools throughout the United States for “obscenity” and “instigating hatred between the races.” The once controversial, now classic American autobiography measures the brutality and rawness of the Jim Crow South against the sheer desperate will it took to survive. Richard Wright grew up in the woods of Mississippi, with poverty, hunger, fear, and hatred. He lied, stole, and raged at those about him; at six he was a “drunkard,” hanging about in taverns. Surly, brutal, cold, suspicious, and self-pitying, he was surrounded on one side by whites who were either indifferent to him, pitying, or cruel, and on the other by blacks who resented anyone trying to rise above the common lot. At the end of Black Boy, Wright sits poised with pencil in hand, determined to "hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo."

Skillfully interweaving quotations from Wright's writings, Rowley portrays a man who transcended the times in which he lived and sought to reconcile opposing cultures in his work. In this lively, finely crafted narrative, Wright--passionate, complex, courageous, and flawed--comes vibrantly to life. Two 8-page photo inserts.

'The only thing in life that you have 100 per cent control over are the thoughts in your head. When your thoughts are centred around the very essence of your purpose, and the meaning of your life, you unleash immeasurable power.' In 2016 Richard Wright was confronted with a diagnosis of rare pituitary cancer – a disease about which little is known, other than that it is almost invariably terminal. In attempting to deal with this bleak knowledge Richard defined what mattered most in his life, his true purpose, which was ensuring that his two young daughters would not have to grow up without their dad. Understanding his life purpose, he focused on overcoming the seemingly insurmountable challenges and obstacles that faced him, using the sheer power of his mind. Ongoing research into what the human mind is capable of, and sheer grit and determination, enabled him to complete four full Ironman races while undergoing harsh cancer treatment, with his daughters cheering him on. It wasn't easy and he had to dig deep to overcome setbacks and disappointments, but he never gave up. Instead, he found the strength, and the freedom, to speak his truth and to become the most authentic version of himself possible. Richard's story, told with raw honesty, humility and humour, provides proof that discomfort sparks outrageous achievement, especially when linked to our sense of purpose. It is a profound story of passion and endurance but, above all, it is a story that will resonate deeply for every one of us, whatever our life circumstances, revealing learnings that challenge us to think differently about our purpose in life. The Power of Purpose is an unforgettable account of one man's indomitable will to overcome crippling adversity. Its power will remain with you long after you have turned the last page. What Richard has done with The Power of Purpose is nothing short of a gift. A modern-day Man's Search for Meaning. – BRONWYN WILLIAMS, Futurist, Trend Analyst, Economist Utterly remarkable. Richard has a way of illuminating the darkness beyond possibility like nobody I've ever met. – MIKE STOPFORTH, Director of Beyond Binary, Entrepreneur, Speaker

Wide-ranging essays in which Wright's biographer probes the career, ideology, complex life, and achievements of America's premier black writer. "A major contribution to Wright studies" -Keneth Kinnamon. "Full of insights into cultural history and radical politics, race relations, and literary connections . . . sets a high standard for scholarship to come" -Werner Sollors

Richard Wright was one of the most influential and complex African American writers of the twentieth century. Best known as the trailblazing, bestselling author of Native Son and Black Boy, he established himself as an experimental literary intellectual in France who creatively drew on some of the leading ideas of his time - Marxism, existentialism, psychoanalysis, and postcolonialism - to explore the sources and meaning of racism both in the United States and worldwide. Richard Wright in Context gathers thirty-three new essays by leading scholars relating Wright's writings to biographical, regional, social, literary, and intellectual contexts essential to understanding them. It explores the places that shaped his life and enabled his literary destiny, the social and cultural contexts he both observed and immersed himself in, and the literary and intellectual contexts that made him one the most famous Black writers in the world at mid-century.

A pillar of African American literature, Richard Wright is one of the most celebrated and controversial authors in American history. His work championed intellectual freedom amid social and political chaos. Despite the popular and critical success of books such as Uncle Tom's Children (1938), Black Boy (1945), and Native Son (1941), Wright faced staunch criticism and even censorship throughout his career for the graphic sexuality, intense violence, and communist themes in his work. Yet, many political theorists have ignored his radical ideas. In The Politics of Richard Wright, an interdisciplinary group of scholars embraces the controversies surrounding Wright as a public intellectual and author. Several contributors explore how the writer mixed fact and fiction to capture the empirical and emotional reality of living as a black person in a racist world. Others examine the role of gender in Wright's canonical and lesser-known writing and the implications of black male vulnerability. They also discuss the topics of black subjectivity, internationalism and diaspora, and the legacy of and responses to slavery in America. Wright's contributions to American political thought remain vital and relevant today. The Politics of Richard Wright is an indispensable resource for students of American literature, culture, and politics who strive to interpret this influential writer's life and legacy.