It’s Prohibition-era Harlem, and Gladys Bentley is at the piano at Harry Hansberry’s Clam House, one of the biggest gay speakeasies in New York. Dressed in her signature tuxedo and top hat, she sings bawdy lyrics to popular songs. Her voice is deep and growling, and she flirts with the women in the audience. Even … Continue reading
Three Black friends wanted to see theater that reflected their lives. So they started making it themselves and thanks to a partnership with Orlando Repertory Theatre, the guys are already on show No. 2.
This season’s comics promise a stellar lineup, including webcomics sensation Kate Beaton’s long-anticipated memoir, the Fantastic Four reenvisioned by hero-artist Alex Ross, and comedian Steve Martin’s graphic memoir.
Graphic: Karl Gustafson
Rudolph Fisher never got to experience the life of a literary luminary firsthand. A distinguished doctor by day and a creative voice of the Harlem Renaissance by night, the prolific short story writer, musician, and dramatist published just two novels before his untimely death from intestinal cancer in 1934 at the age of 37.
The Conjure-Man Dies (1932), an enthralling whodunnit and Fisher’s final full-length work, could have easily functioned as the young wordsmith’s breakout effort, setting him on a path similar to those of genre giants like Agatha Christie or Chester Himes. Instead, the legacy that underscores HarperCollins’ reprint of the novel last month as the first-known detective novel penned by an African American author is a largely posthumous one. The witty thriller, entombed in humor and the spirit of Prohibition-era Harlem, has become a testament to the author’s underexplored potential.