Claude McKay: The Making of a Black Bolshevik

Join author and Claude McKay specialist Winston James, currently on a speaking tour from the US, to discuss his latest book: Claude McKay: The Making of a Black Bolshevik.

One of the foremost Black writers and intellectuals of his era, Claude McKay was a central figure in Caribbean literature, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Black radical tradition. McKay’s life and writing were defined and shaped by his experiences growing up in colonial Jamaica as well as his early experience in the US and London, where he spent over a year (1919-1921) in radical, socialist and anti-imperialist circles. Dedicated to confronting both racism and capitalist exploitation, he was a critical observer of the Black condition throughout the African diaspora and became a committed Bolshevik.

Drawing on a wide variety of sources we will discuss McKay’s rich life, political evolution, and the historical and intellectual contexts that shaped him.

An absolute highlight for this year’s Black History month!