VAN VECHTEN, Carl

Nigger Heaven

Eleventh printing. A little light foxing in the text, else near fine, without dustwrapper. Bookplate of the facetious "Realm of Redonda," and its monarchs M.P. Shiel and John Gawsworth. Inscribed by Van Vechten to Shiel: "for M.P. Shiel whose books are like dreams of wonder, from Carl Van Vechten. July 4, 1927. New York." Redonda is a small, uninhabited island in the Caribbean which was allegedly claimed by Shiel's father upon the birth of his son, who eventually became an important fantasy and science-fiction writer. A novel about a young couple in Harlem, set amid the cabarets and soirees of the Harlem Renaissance, which has been controversial since it was published because of its title. However, Van Vechten, who was white, was tireless in his support of African-American artists and writers even after the glamour of the Renaissance, which had drawn so many white intellectuals to Harlem, had waned. A nice association between two writers known for their attachment to whimsy and amusement.

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