and Wallace Stevens. Books by Knopf soon came
to be recognized by the distinctive Borzoi symbol.
Inspired by the Russian wolfhound and suggested
by Knopf’s wife and instrumental coworker,
Blanche Wolf Knopf, the image signaled the press’s
commitment to literary excellence.
Knopf published the works of many leading
writers of the Harlem Renaissance. It produced
THEWEARYBLUES (1926), the first volume of
poems by LANGSTONHUGHES, and went on to
publish several additional Hughes works such as
the writer’s first novel, NOTWITHOUTLAUGHTER
(1930). Other Harlem Renaissance works that the
press published included WALTERWHITE’s FIRE IN
THEFLINT(1924), RUDOLPHFISHER’s THEWALLS
OFJERICHO(1928), and NELLALARSEN’s QUICK-
SAND(1928) and PASSING(1929).
Poet CLAUDEMCKAYhad mixed encounters
with the press. He was confident that Knopf would
publish SPRING INNEWHAMPSHIRE(1922), his
first American book, but they did not. The press
later rejected Color Scheme, his first book
manuscript but one filled with graphic images and
obscenity. McKay never published the work; he de-
stroyed it and began work on HOME TOHARLEM,
the novel published by HARPER&BROTHERSthat
invigorated his career in the United States.
Bibliography
Alfred A. Knopf Quarter Century.New York: Plimpton
Press, 1940.
Knopf, Alfred A. Portrait of a Publisher 1915–1965.Vol.
1: Reminiscences and Reflections.New York: The Ty-
pophiles, 1965.
Lewis, Randolph. “Langston Hughes and Alfred A.
Knopf, Inc., 1925–1935.” Library Chronicle of the
University of Texas22, no. 4 (1992): 52–63.
Moore, Heather, and Lewis Randolph, eds. “The Educa-
tion of a Publisher: Selections from the Memoirs of
Alfred A. Knopf.” Library Chronicle of the University
of Texas22, no. 4 (1992): 8–49.
Tebbel, John William. Between Covers: The Rise and
Transformation of Book Publishing in America.New
York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Alhambra Theatre
A popular entertainment venue located at 126th
Street and Seventh Avenue. It became especially
well known because it was there in 1926 that the
celebrated Blackbirdsproduction, starring Florence
Mills and Bill Robinson, played.
The theater also was home to dramatic stock
companies and troupes such as the All Star Col-
ored Civic Repertory Company, which was in resi-
dence during May and June of 1927. The
Alhambra Players, whose members included ac-
complished veterans of the stage and of film, were
based at the theater from 1928 through 1931. Its
members included Evelyn Preer, Charles Moore,
and J. Lawrence Criner, and the troupe offered
“half-hour ‘playlet[s],’” which complemented the
main entertainment of silent films or vaudeville
shows.
According to theater historian Bernard Pe-
terson, the Alhambra “booked some black acts,
but had a regular policy of racial discrimination”
(Peterson, 10). That policy eventually lapsed in
the early 1920s, and the theater managers ac-
tively began to solicit African American patrons.Bibliography
Peterson, Bernard L. ed. The African American Theatre Di-
rectory, 1816–1960: A Comprehensive Guide to Early
Black Theatre Organizations, Companies, Theatres,
and Performing Groups.Westport, Conn.: Greenwood
Press, 1997.Allen, Cleveland(1887–1953)
A journalist who wrote for the New York Age,the
pro–BOOKERT. WASHINGTONpaper edited by T.
THOMASFORTUNE, and was the New York agent
for the CHICAGODEFENDERand the Indianapolis
Freeman.Allen, who studied music at NEWYORK
UNIVERSITYand the Angelus Academy of Music,
also lectured and published articles on African-
American folk music in scholarly music journals.Bibliography
Pride, Armistead Scott, and Clint C. Wilson. A History
Of The Black Press.Washington, D.C.: Howard
University Press, 1997.
Simmons, Charles. The African American Press: A History
of News Coverage During National Crises, with Spe-
cial Reference to Four Black Newspapers, 1827–1965.
Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1998.6 Alhambra Theatre