Dorothy West's Paradise : A Biography of Class and Color

Dorothy West is best known as one of the youngest writers involved in the Harlem Renaissance. Subsequently, her work is read as a product of the urban aesthetics of this artistic movement. But West was also intimately rooted in a very different milieu—Oak Bluffs, an exclusive retreat for African Americans on Martha’s Vineyard. She played an integral role in the development and preservation of that community. In the years between publishing her two novels, 1948’s __The Living is Easy__ and the 1995 bestseller __The Wedding__, she worked as a columnist for __the Vineyard Gazette__. __Dorothy West’s Paradise__ captures the scope of the author’s long life and career, reading it alongside the unique cultural geography of Oak Bluffs and its history as an elite African American enclave—a place that West envisioned both as a separatist refuge and as a space for interracial contact. An essential book for both fans of West’s fiction and students of race, class, and American women’s lives, Dorothy West’s Paradise offers an intimate biography of an important author and a privileged glimpse into the society that shaped her work. Dorothy West is best known as one of the youngest writers involved in the Harlem Renaissance. Her work is read as a product of the urban aesthetics of this artistic movement. But West was also intimately rooted in a very different milieuâ€"Oak Bluffs, an exclusive retreat for African Americans on Martha's Vineyard. In the years between publishing her two novels, 1948's The Living is Easy and the 1995 bestseller The Wedding, she worked as a columnist for the Vineyard Gazette. This book captures the scope of the author's long life and career, reading it alongside the unique cultural geography of Oak Bluffs and its history as an elite African American enclave, a place that West envisioned both as a separatist refuge and as a space for interracial contact A Legend Of Oak Bluffs -- Childhood Sketches -- Dorothy West's Typewriter -- To Russia With Love -- New Challenges -- The Living Is Easy -- Cottager's Corner -- Two Weddings -- Coda: Winter On Martha's Vineyard. Cherene Sherrard-johnson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 213-220) And Index.