HAZEL ROWLEY
627
In the light of the frequent criticism, particularly among black scholars,
that Wright's fiction reinforces white prejudices, it is revealing to know
something about the publishing history of Wright's work. The drafts and
unpublished manuscripts among Wright's papers at Yale tell a somewhat
different story from his published works. In fact, Richard Wright did not
write to please white readers any more than he wrote to please black read–
ers. If anything, he rather enjoyed provoking the wrath of both; there was
an element in him that liked to shock. Unfortunately for him, it was the
whi te
Ii
terary establishment that accepted or rejected his manuscri pts.
Since
Native Son
and
Black Boy
are the two narratives with which
Wright is invariably associated, and since every entry on Richard Wright
in directories and anthologies mentions the Book-of-the-Month Club as
playing an invaluable part in these spectacular early successes, I will focus
on this small aspect of the larger story.
"An interesting development has occurred which promises very exciting
possibili ties if it comes off. I want to tell you about it, but please don't base
any hopes in it yet." It was late August of 1939 when Wright's publisher,
Edward Aswell of Harper
&
Brothers, told Wright that the Book-of-the–
Month Club judges were excited about
Native Son.
Aswell had asked
Wright to make some revisions to his original manuscript, but the book
was now set in galley proofs, ready for publication the following month.
It came as a complete surprise to both Aswell and Wright
to
be told
that the Book-of-the-Month Club liked the book. There was, however, a
catch: selection was contingent on Wright making some changes-mostly
in the form of excisions. Publication of the novel would have to be post–
poned.
The enticement of being a Book-of-the-Month selection cannot be
underestimated. Wright would be the first black writer to be promoted by
the Book-of-the-Month Club. It meant sales of a scope that no black
writer had ever enjoyed before, a fat check, and considerable prestige. We
know where Wright's publishers and his literary agent stood on the mat–
ter. The pressure on Wright was immense. He was thirty-one, it was his
first novel , and he wanted as many readers as possible. There is no record
of his feelings about the changes; what we do know is that he made them.
The judges hesitated for seven more months, holding up publication.
They worried that by selecting this " red-hot poker," they were "risking
the utter condemnation of the reading subscribers." Eventually, they
declared it one of two Books of the Month for March 1940. (Their other
choice was
The Trees,
by Conrad Richter.) But the
Native Son
they were
now promoting was no longer qui te the same book that had crossed their
desk the previous summer. The changes they had asked Wright to make
