dem

by William Melvin Kelley

Originally published in 1967, dem is a classic of the Black Arts Movement. This surrealistic satire lays bare the convoluted and symbiotic relationship between whites and blacks. Coffee House Press is pleased to bring back into print this widely unavailable work.
Upper-middle-class Manhattanite Mitchell Pierce and his wife Tamara enact the twists and turns of human relationships in this startling fable about the intersections of race, class, sex, love, and marriage. Kelley questions the nature and validity of subjective realities as he examines the constraints and consequences of prejudice.
Mitchell is convinced he has it made. With advancement at work, an attractive wife, and a comfortable apartment, he has achieved the 1960s version of the white man's American dream. Then, slowly but surely, that dream becomes a nightmare, and Mitchell can't seem to wake up. Did he really find his boss's wife and children dead in an upstairs bedroom of their suburban home? Did his wife really become pregnant after a brief fling with their black maid's boyfriend?
Notable as a satiric portrayal of white characters from an African American perspective, this milestone achievement tugs at our ability to suspend disbelief and forces us to reexamine stereotypes from the past and current images in America's racial divide.
William Melvin Kelley's other books include the novels A Different Drummer, A Drop of Patience, Dunfords Travels Everywheres, and the short story collection, Dancers on the Shore. Kelley attended the Fieldston School and Harvard, where he studied under Archibald MacLeish and John Hawkes. He lives in Harlem, is a professor of Creative Writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and regularly teaches seminars at the Taos Institute of Art in Taos, New Mexico.

Genres: Fiction, African American, Novels, Audiobook

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

William Melvin Kelley was a prominent African-American novelist and short-story writer.

He was educated at the Fieldston School in New York and later attended Harvard University (class of 1960), where he won the Dana Reed Prize for creative writing.

Kelley was a writer in residence at the State University of New York at Geneseo and taught at the New School for Social Research and at Sarah Lawrence College.

In 2008, he won the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award.

Kelley died in Manhattan on February 1, 2017. He was 79.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelley writes about the White Gaze like no one else I have ever come across. He writes its assumptions, presumptions, demands, its blindness to nuance and individuality, its arrogance and hatred. As other commentators have noted, this is perhaps why he remains under-read. He is rightly brutal and pulls no punches.

The book is dedicated “to the black people in (not of) America” and, in a further indication of his intention, begins with an epigraph from an Ashanti proverb: “the ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people”.



If this book does not quite reach the brilliance of his previous work, it is just because it feels at times like he is trying to do something but not quite sure how to, like it is trying to cohere but doesn’t quite get there. Which is not to say it is not an extraordinary piece of work.

Interestingly one chapter turns out to be one of his short stories slightly expanded, and there are many characters from his previous stories that pop up again here. If I had not just read them, and so knew more about these people, I wonder if the novel would have worked less effectively for me.

Regardless, he was a genius and you need to be reading him.

Read this too: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

And then someone needs to publish those two unpublished novels! Especially the metafictional one, which sounds amazing

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Call it the para-canon, I guess. The writers that by all rights should be as lionized as whatever l’Academie have spangled their laurel of gold stars upon—those little sticker ones; teachers used to fête children with them— signaling to the meek of the land ‘Here Be Genius.’ Apparently, this conceptual Hall of Fame is harder to get into than Cooperstown; either the Academy only has so much display room, or its just an entirely bullshit proposition of gatekeeping, self-interest disguised as essentialism, and ego inflation. Then again, could just be fucking dumb. Whatever. The point: in the ideal future-perfect that has enough holding capacity for more than a handful of ‘voices’ (fucking term) ping-ponging around a crypt-cum-echo chamber, William Melvin Kelley will be found shoulder-to-shoulder with anyone. Yes, anyone. Dem, dis, is Kelley’s only hard satire, an eliding of what were his apparently boundless talents into an otherwise sadly untapped vein. Seems that Kelley may be finally getting some of his due; thank God it’s long after he’s dead and can do fuckall with it. [Note to self: call l’Academie; tell them Kelley is boxable, marketable; an unmoving bead of light. Mention ‘fungibility’ and—why not?—something about ‘other voices.’ Then tell them ‘fuck you, nerds!,’ hang up, and pat self on back. Follow up by mailing them an Anthrax album in an envelope; they hate postmodernism, but ESPECIALLY meta-theatre. You know, like—this?]

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a wild ride from start to finish. I was pleasantly surprised that the content wasn't an overbearing and overwhelming barrage of the typical view of race in America: namely, being Black. That is to say: the viewpoint was surprising, unique and completely realistic. I found myself thinking I knew what was coming next and being shocked and eager for more around every turn. Kelley is obviously a brilliant story teller with a voice that deserves to be listened to. I kept thinking: This would be a cool movie adaptation for Jordan Peele to get his hands on. If that ever happens...you heard it here first...

[Andi Chorley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent fable of race relations by the author who first put the word Woke to print in a New York Times opinion piece.

A section featuring characters from the long-running US soap Search for Tomorrow did make me wonder if Gil Scott-Heron was inspired by this book when he wrote the lyrics to The Revolution Will Not Be Televised:

"And women will not care if Dick finally got down with Jane
On Search for Tomorrow"

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you consider that this book was originally published in 1967, it makes the book that much more consequential. An inversion of sorts. Takes white supremacy and flips the script slightly. Cultural expectations are expressed and experienced differently in this book. Our protagonist Mitchell has a negative view of Black people in general and this bias comes back to bite him in his azz. When his wife gives birth to twins, with one being Black, Mitchell is thrown into chaos control, oh imagine the neighbors, the co-workers, his social standing. The story from there picks up the pace and racial conventions are examined through Mitchell’s search for the father of this Black baby, who ironically is no stranger to Mitchell or of course his wife. Seriously satirical, sardonic and scathingly satisfying. A hilarious story that will evoke reflection. Well done! 👍🏾

[Trin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Delightfully, viciously, righteously sharp -- but very, very broad, and unfortunately, rather scattered. I definitely recommend reading the recent New Yorker article about Kelley, which is fascinating and tragic. You can see a great deal of his talent even in this flawed novel, but it is clear he never got the editorial support he deserved.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

satire of white folks

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like an ahistorical internet warrior misinformed to the hilt who suddenly discovers evidence contrary to his basic set of principles, I was finally in on the wide open secret hiding in plain sight throughout this novel. I had even read ahead, the subtext explicitly piquing my interest, and still…I was unsure afoot while walking deliberately through the set of circumstances here. Mitchell Pierce is a well paid urbanite but also a philanderer and a racist. He holds no regard for his wife and is aloof with women in general, what to do with them other than use them for personal gain. He is dismayed by people of color, judging them harshly for the smallest of transgressions, and when faced with his estranged wife giving birth to twins—one white and one black—he sets out on a quest for the real father of the black baby to alleviate himself of the responsibility of raising the child. Or, if you’re into symbolism, the responsibility of human dignity towards those who are different, an oft repeated but seldom justified or rectified behavior of the white patriarchy for centuries. Bizarre and stinging, this book, recommended by John Warner, the Biblioracle, is as advertised, an ahead of its time classic.

[Ellice · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a mind-bending book, first published in 1967. I got a copy after I heard Percival Everett mention it during a lecture. The characters, protagonist included, are pretty uniformly unlikeable (though maybe all for different reasons). There’s a haze of unreality (fever dream? acid trip?) over all the events, though the underlying issues of race and racism still ring true. I’m glad I read it, as unsettling as it was.

[Mostly on Storygraph · Rating 5 out of 5]

These publishers have done a good service by publishing this 1967 work, a vital addition to the literary production of the Black Arts Movement. I'd only read William Melvin Kelley’s other book, A Different Drummer, and was so taken by this author and his beautiful and accessible prose, even when he is describing difficult subjects. With this book (and with A Different Drummer), I recommend reading the recent New Yorker article about the author's fascinating and tragic life: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

[Mikhaila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Black excellence. William Melvin Kelley’s writing is deeply insightful, complex. It makes you truly question the relationships you are involved in and the ways that your actions contribute to the feelings of the people you love. Kelley is brilliant at developing his characters with nuance. To write a story about the complications between race while telling such a profound story is a skill in and of itself but Kelley does so much more with the great narrative.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

White guy voice: I neEd To gO to WoRk!! mY WiFEE!!!

[Diana Eberhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant 1967 surrealist satire about a philandering husband trying to get “a little white justice” for the results of his wife’s affair, but instead receiving a personal payback for slavery.

[Irfan]

jeez the cover on this site sucks. the original on the edition i have is amazing.

There is something to be said about hwo sharp Kelley replicates the schizo-neurotic "White Gaze" that seems still to inhibit most western men till this day, and is at it seems to me to be at least related to the many weird and oppresive ways politics, media etc. function in these weird,western, white societies.

Sadly, seen from a literary standpoint, this novel is not as "complete" or focused as it at many points felt like it could be, still urgently worth a read for anyone that can get their fingers on it.

[Kaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is perfectly orchestrated chaos. Kelley distorts the readers sense of reality to show the absurdity of certain social constructs, and the sense of confusion makes the reader hungry for more information. As the book came out in 1967, I'm sure its message was much more revolutionary at the time, but it certainly still resonates today.

[Jewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by an African American author in 1967 I was enthralled with his story about racial perceptions and expectations. Was not, however, ready for the ending which really had me going wow!! The second book that I've read by this new-to-me author, I have two more by him and look forward to reading them both.

[Tom Mudge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very interesting and different to read. Kelley writes satire in a way that at sometimes feels so familiar and real yet bizarre and intricate.

He really writes with a sting towards racial relations in America that last, despite being written in 1967. To be honest, this might need a reread to pick up on lost points.

[Jancohen · Rating 2 out of 5]

didn’t love it

Racist, not very well written, unsatisfying. Angry outburst. Unselfconscious. Impossible to relate to protagonists. Did not understand relationship between colleagues and direction of the novel. Please tell me what I missed

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow that’s a terrible cover photo. This was really interesting and good - but also sometimes so disturbing I had to put it down for a couple nights.

[Mario D · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very twisted way to turn in it's head the assumptions white people have about race.

[Ellen Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I liked it enough? It was really strange. Thought provoking, though.

[Kimia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a fun story, but I think it is worth reading and thinking about as I have tried to.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had lots of fun with this one

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odd little book. Superb introduction that goes very deeply into the cultural context

[death spiral · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good episode of Mad Men

[Dan Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A burning, dizzying novel that will leave you with deep questions to answer.

[Barry H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Talha Saeed]

ok