Claude McKay: The Making of a Black Bolshevik

by Winston James

One of the foremost Black writers and intellectuals of his era, Claude McKay (1889–1948) was a central figure in Caribbean literature, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Black radical tradition. McKay’s life and writing were defined by his class consciousness and anticolonialism, shaped by his experiences growing up in colonial Jamaica as well as his early career as a writer in Harlem and then London. Dedicated to confronting both racism and capitalist exploitation, he was a critical observer of the Black condition throughout the African diaspora and became a committed Bolshevik.

Winston James offers a revelatory account of McKay’s political and intellectual trajectory from his upbringing in Jamaica through the early years of his literary career and radical activism. In 1912, McKay left Jamaica to study in the United States, never to return. James follows McKay’s time at the Tuskegee Institute and Kansas State University, as he discovered the harshness of American racism, and his move to Harlem, where he encountered the ferment of Black cultural and political movements and figures such as Hubert Harrison and Marcus Garvey. McKay left New York for London, where his commitment to revolutionary socialism deepened, culminating in his transformation from Fabian socialist to Bolshevik.

Drawing on a wide variety of sources, James offers a rich and detailed chronicle of McKay’s life, political evolution, and the historical, political, and intellectual contexts that shaped him.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History

Hardcover

Published July 12, 2022

Reviews

[Ztu · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for supplying a copy of this e-book in return for an honest review.*

This is my kind of poetry book. Claude McKay: The Making of a Black Bolshevik by Winston James explores the life and times of an extraordinary man in times that were just as interesting. It also provides a view of a revolutionary life as a net positive despite the fact he later turned away from the movement. The poetry is therefore provided in a clear context to give the reader a greater appreciation of the works than they would get through simply reading poems solely. One downside was the review copy I received was very hard to read due to significant errors that I hope were corrected in the final edition.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Claude McKay: The Making of a Black Bolshevik by Winston James presents McKay in a manner which sheds life on both the man and his writing.

I have long liked McKay's work but knew very little beyond what I learned in various courses, which amounted to a very skeletal outline of his life and influences. While these shed some light on his literary output we were largely left to interpret and understand him with minimal context. This volume corrects that gap in my education and understanding.

This is a critical biography that focuses on his political and revolutionary changes as his experiences exposed him to new obstacles and communities, both welcoming and unwelcoming. While reading this I went back and reread a couple of his pieces and noticed so many more nuanced meanings than I had before.

While this will certainly appeal to anyone with an interest in literature and the Harlem Rennaissance, this will also satisfy most whose interest leans more toward political science and social/cultural history in general. McKay's life trajectory is exceptional, yet it also speaks to many of the intellectual trends of his day and into the present.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.