Harlem Rhapsody, Victoria Christopher Murray (Review By Lara Ferguson)
Rating: 5/5
Jessie Redmon Fauset comes to New York from Washington D.C. in 1919 to become the first Black woman to hold the position of Literary Editor of The Crisis, a magazine founded in 1910 by W.E.B. Dubois and theofficial publication of the NAACP. This was Jessie’s dream job. She was going to be given the opportunity to discover and develop young Black writers and write her own poems and stories and at the same time be in the same city as the man she loved. Determined to prove herself, in spite ofher love affair with W.E.B. that must stay hidden, Jessie throws herself into making the magazine incredible and in the process discovers the things that are truly important to her.
Harlem Rhapsody is a fictional account of the life of the real Jessie Redmon Fauset, who overcame overwhelming odds to earn a Master’s degree and was able to use her position with The Crisis, to find and promote authors such as Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and many others in a time when many did not believe that even an educated Black man or woman should be able to work in a professional capacity. Jessie established a reputation for excellence and grew many young Black writers as she developed her own craft and became a published author in her own right.
This story comes alive under the pen of Victoria Christopher Murray who has created an incredible, vibrant picture of Harlem in New York during this time period, often called The Black Renaissance when the art, music, and literature of Black Americans was beginning to bediscovered, nurtured, and spotlighted for its own value. The tale draws the reader in. It is full of emotion, mystery, intrigue, and truth.
