Richard Wright
African American, Poet and Author
By: Juan Alferez and Gilberto Chavez
Information
Richard Wright was an African-American writer and poet. He was born on September 4, 1908, in Roxie, Mississipi. Richard started writing early and published his first short story at the age of 16. Wright is mostly known for his bestselling novels Native Son and his own autobiography Black Boy.
Biography
Richard Nathaniel Wright was born on September 4, 1908, near Natchez, Mississippi. The grandson of slaves and the son of a sharecropper, Wright was largely raised by his mother, a caring woman who became a single parent after her husband left the family when Wright was five years old.
In 1927, Wright finally left the South and moved to Chicago, where he worked at a post office and also swept streets. But like so many Americans struggling through the Depression, Wright fell prey to bouts of poverty. Along the way, his frustration with American capitalism led him to join the Communist Party in 1932.
When he could, Wright continued to plow through books and write. He eventually joined the Federal Writers’ Project, and in 1937, with dreams of making it as a writer, he moved to New York City, where he was told he stood a better chance of getting published.
A year later, Wright published Uncle Tom's Children, a collection of four stories, and the book proved to be a significant turning point in his career. The stories earned him a $500 prize from Story magazine and led to a 1939 Guggenheim Fellowship.
Wright died of a heart attack on November 28, 1960, in Paris, France.
Books By Richard Wright
Black Boy
Rite of Passage
Fifteen-year-old Johnny Gibbs does well in school, respects his teachers, and loves his family. Then suddenly, with a few short words, his life is shattered. He learns that the family he has loved all his life is not his own, but a foster family. And now he is being sent to live with someone else.Saddened by the news, Johnny does the only thing he can think of: he runs. Leaving his childhood behind forever, Johnny takes to the streets where he learns about living life--the hard way.
Authors Symbol
I chose this symbol because it has something to do with Richard Wright and his writing. Richard Wright was a powerful writer that defended his race and wasn't afraid to show it to the world by putting it in his books.
Quotes By Richard Wright
Goddammit, look! We live here and they live there. We black and they white. They got things and we ain’t. They do things and we can’t. It’s just like living in jail.
The artist must bow to the monster of his own imagination.
Citations
"CliffsNotes Study Guides | Book Summaries, Test Preparation & Homework Help | Written by Teachers." CliffsNotes Study Guides | Book Summaries, Test Preparation & Homework Help | Written by Teachers. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
"Goodreads." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
"Richard Wright Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
Questions
This person is successful as a writer because of the things he put in his writing. Things such as racism, segregation, and mistreatment of the African Americans; Because of this writings, Richard Wright became to be on of the best authors during his time by winning many awards for his racial based books.
I admire this author because he fought for what he believed. He believed that African Americans should be treated equally and he wasn´t afraid to put it in his writing.