The Last Leaf of Harlem: The Uncollected Works of Dorothy West

by Dorothy West, Lionel C. Bascom (Editor)

A literary event—selected and previously uncollected fiction by the woman who was the last surviving member of the Harlem Renaissance.

When Dorothy West died in 1998, she was the last surviving member of the Harlem Renaissance, a contemporary of Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Richard Wright. Popular history holds that between the publication of her two novels (The Living is Easy in 1948 and The Wedding in 1995), Dorothy West fell silent.

In fact, there was never a time in Dorothy West’s life in which she was not writing and publishing. The Last Leaf of Harlem gathers West’s writing from these supposedly silent years--syndicated fiction in the New York Daily News, pieces for the Work Progress Administration’s Federal Writer’s Project, and publications in small journals and magazines--along with known and beloved pieces by this extraordinary writer.

Many of these stories, describing and exploring marriage, loss, family life, and poverty were lost until now. The Last Leaf of Harlem brings together the almost-forgotten pieces of Dorothy West’s lifework, and gives the reader a fresh look into a remarkable writer and career.

DOROTHY WEST was born in Boston circa 1908. At her death in 1998, she was the last surviving member of the Harlem Renaissance. Her works include: The Living is Easy, The Wedding, and The Richer, The Poorer. LIONEL C. BASCOM is a professor of English at Western Connecticut State University. A long-time investigative journalist, Bascom has specialized lately in the discovery of forgotten or neglected literary manuscripts by early 20th Century African-Americans, black folklore and stories about black culture in the United States. He is the editor of A Renaissance in Harlem and lives in Danbury, Connecticut.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, African American, Literature

320 pages, Hardcover

First published February 5, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Dorothy West was a novelist and short story writer who was part of the Harlem Renaissance. She is best known for her novel The Living Is Easy, about the life of an upper-class black family.

West's principal contribution to the Harlem Renaissance was to publish the magazine Challenge, which she founded in 1934 with $40. She also published the magazines successor, New Challenge. These magazines were among the first to publish literature featuring realistic portrayals of African Americans. Among the works published were Richard Wright's groundbreaking essay "Blueprint for Negro Writing," together with writings by Margaret Walker and Ralph Ellison.

After both magazines folded because of insufficient financing, West worked for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writers' Project until the mid-1940s. During this time she wrote a number of short stories for the New York Daily News. She then moved to Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard, where she wrote her first novel, The Living Is Easy. Published in 1948, her novel was well received critically but did not sell many copies.

In the four decades after, West worked as a journalist, primarily writing for a small newspaper on Martha's Vineyard. In 1982 a feminist press brought The Living Is Easy back into print, giving new attention to West and her role in the Harlem Renaissance. As a result of this attention, at age 85 West finally finished a second novel, titled The Wedding. Published in 1995, the novel was a best-seller and resulted in the publication of a collection of West's short stories and reminiscences called The Richer, the Poorer. Oprah Winfrey turned the novel into a two-part television miniseries, The Wedding (TV miniseries).

Reviews

[Jewell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of short stories by Dorothy West. Lionel C. Bascom was the editor. He did an incredible amount of research in putting this collection together, all of which is spelled out in the Introduction to the book as well as a biographical history of Miss West and a chronology of her writings.

Dorothy West was a prolific writer who took you into the lives of those she wrote about. She wrote across ethnicities, as many of her stories are not about African Americans. Common situations, issues, and concerns of all people resonate clearly throughout her short stories. I enjoyed The Last Leaf Of Harlem and just maybe Bascom, or some other person will find more of her works and put them into another collection as well.

[DJ]

Pertinent Story, THE WEDDDING.

[Eileen Durgin-clinchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating to read the introduction about Dorothy West. The collected short stories vary widely in quality, reminding me of women's magazine stories,

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars for first section, 2 1/2 for the rest

1 point Bukowski type writing of lower society
-1 point for too many outlines or drafts instead of stories

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dorothy West is one of my favorite writers. This collection of some of her writings for various publications was a treasured fine. The introduction by Lionel C. Bascon provided some interesting information about the history of the writings and the writer.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was such a really good read.the first short story book of any kind that I've read in ages.borrowed it from my local library,I will be purchasing to add to my book collection.the only other thing I read by her is the wedding,years ago.

[Estelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

These depression-era stories evoke the pains of scarcity, and the complications of relationships, identity, presumptions and learned constructs.

[Calvin]

One of the more underrated writers of the second half of the 20th Century.