Gay Rebel of the Harlem Renaissance

Richard Bruce Nugent (1906-1987) was a writer, painter, illustrator, and popular bohemian personality who lived at the centre of the Harlem Renaissance. Protege of Alain Locke, roommate of Wallace Thurman, and friend of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, the precocious Nugent stood for many years as the only African-American writer willing to clearly pronounce his homosexuality in print. Selections from his writings, paintings, and erotic art-deco drawings-mostly unpublished or scattered in rare and obscure publications-are collected here for the first time. A contributor to the landmark publication Fire! and resident of the notorious Niggeratti Manor, Nugent drew heavily upon his own experiences in his art. Thomas H. Wirth, a close friend of Nugent's during the last years of the artist's life, has assembled a selection of Nugent's writings, including his best-known piece, "Smoke, Lilies, and Jade," and some of his poems and short non-fiction. The visual art selections include many of Nugent's sketches, as well as a number of his paintings. Wirth has written an introduction providing biographical information about Nugent's life and situating his art in relation to the visual and literary currents that influenced him. A foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr. emphasises the importance of Nugent for African American history and culture. Outliving virtually all other Harlem Renaissance figures, Nugent became a valuable resource to historians during his later years and is quoted in many works about the Harlem Renaissance era. This book offers a trove of hitherto unavailable primary source material and original art.