of works by major writers such as COUNTEE
CULLENand CLAUDEMCKAY.
The press established a productive relation-
ship with Countee Cullen, the poet and novelist,
which spanned more than a decade. They first
published COLOR,a volume of poems, in 1925. In
1927, COPPERSUN,the first volume with “decora-
tions” by Charles Cullen, appeared. Harper &
Brothers published Countee Cullen’s THEBALLAD
OF THEBROWNGIRLthat included illustrations
and artwork by Charles Cullen in 1927. Also in
that year, the press published CAROLINGDUSK:AN
ANTHOLOGY OF VERSE BY NEGRO POETS, for
which Cullen was the editor and artist AARON
DOUGLASprovided stunning illustrations. In 1929
the sobering collection THEBLACKCHRIST AND
OTHERPOEMSappeared. ONEWAY TOHEAVEN
(1932) and THEMEDEA ANDSOMEPOEMS(1935)
followed a few years later.
Claude McKay’s affiliation with Harper &
Brothers began in 1928 with the publication of
HOME TOHARLEM,a novel regarded by many as
the first major work of the Harlem Renaissance.
One year later, the press published BANJO:A
STORYWITHOUT APLOT(1929). During the next
few years, the press published GINGERTOWN
(1932) and BANANABOTTOM(1933).
Harper & Brothers continued its commitment
to publishing African-American literature in the
years following the end of the Harlem Renaissance.
The press published RICHARD WRIGHT’s Black
Boy: A Record of Childhood and Youthin 1945.
Bibliography
Exman, Eugene. The Brothers Harper: A Unique Publish-
ing Partnership and Its Impact upon the Cultural Life
of America from 1817 to 1853.New York: Harper &
Row, 1965.
Harris, Frank(1855–1931)
The editor of Pearson’s Magazinewho showcased
the work of CLAUDEMCKAY in the September
1918 issue of the magazine. Pearson, an Irish immi-
grant from County Galway, was a multitalented
writer. He published plays, short stories, and bi-
ographies of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard
Shaw. Before he joined the staff at Pearson’s,Harris
served as editor for prominent publications such as
Vanity Fairand the Saturday Review.
Harris became editor of Pearson’sin 1916, to-
ward the end of his tumultuous career in literary cir-
cles and in publishing. Claude McKay was very
familiar with Harris’s works, and when the two men
met in GREENWICHVILLAGE for the first time,
McKay shared many details and scrapbooks of his
life and adventures. Pearson published five poems by
McKay and provided the author with the invaluable
opportunity to pen an informative autobiographical
statement. According to McKay biographer Wayne
Cooper, the publicity in Pearson’sbuoyed McKay’s
spirits immensely.Bibliography
Cooper, Wayne. Claude McKay: Rebel Sojourner in the
Harlem Renaissance.New York: Schocken Books,
1987.
Pullar, Philippa. Frank Harris, a Biography.New York:
Simon & Schuster, 1976.
Root, E. Merrill. Frank Harris.New York: The Odyssey
Press, 1947.Harris, George Westley(1884–unknown)
An accomplished journalist who became the editor
of the AMSTERDAMNEWS,one of the most widely
respected newspapers in NEWYORKCITY.
Harris attended two Massachusetts schools.
He enrolled at Tufts before going on to HARVARD
UNIVERSITY; he graduated in 1907. He was an as-
sociate editor at the NEWYORKAGE,the paper
founded by T. THOMASFORTUNE, which began as
the New York Freemanand became the Agein- Harris later worked as an editor at the New
York News.
In 1923 Harris was one of several editors and
prominent race leaders who called for legal investi-
gation of MARCUSGARVEYand his organization,
the UNIVERSALNEGROIMPROVEMENTASSOCIA-
TION. In January 1923 the group that included Har-
ris, Messengercoeditor Chandler Owen, NAACP
Director of Branches ROBERTBAGNALL,NAACP
Field Secretary WILLIAM PICKENS, and PACE
PHONOGRAPHCOMPANYfounder Harry Pace sub-
mitted a lengthy letter to the attorney general. Gar-
vey blasted Harris and others as “wicked Negroes”
and characterized their efforts to censure his orga-
222 Harris, Frank