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A Different Drummer

William Melvin Kelley

$22.99

Paperback

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English
Headline
30 October 2018
'More than lives up to the hype' Observer 'Set to become a publishing sensation' Kirsty Lang, BBC Front Row 'An astounding achievement' Sunday Times 'The lost giant of American literature' New Yorker
June, 1957. One afternoon, in the backwater town of Sutton, a young black farmer by the name of Tucker Caliban matter-of-factly throws salt on his field, shoots his horse and livestock, sets fire to his house and departs the southern state. And thereafter, the entire African-American population leave with him.

The reaction that follows is told across a dozen chapters, each from the perspective of a different white townsperson. These are boys, girls, men and women; either liberal or conservative, bigoted or sympathetic - yet all of whom are grappling with this spontaneous, collective rejection of subordination.

In 1962, aged just 24, William Melvin Kelley's debut novel A DIFFERENT DRUMMER earned him critical comparisons to James Baldwin and William Faulkner. Fifty-five years later, author and journalist Kathryn Schulz happened upon the novel serendipitously and was inspired to write the New Yorker article 'The Lost Giant of American Literature', included as a foreword to this edition.

By:  
Imprint:   Headline
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 196mm,  Width: 128mm,  Spine: 26mm
Weight:   280g
ISBN:   9781787478039
ISBN 10:   1787478033
Pages:   336
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  ELT Advanced ,  Primary
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Born in New York in 1937, William Melvin Kelley was an African-American writer known for his satirical explorations of race relations in America. He was just twenty-four years old when his debut novel, A Different Drummer, was first published in 1962, earning him critical comparisons to William Faulkner and James Baldwin. Considered part of the Black Arts Movement, Kelley was in 2014 officially credited by the Oxford English Dictionary with coining the political term 'woke,' in a 1962 New York Times article entitled 'If You're Woke You Dig It'. He died in February of 2017, aged 79.

Reviews for A Different Drummer

Simple, timeless, mythic . . . an astounding achievement . . . still relevant and powerful today. * Sunday Times * Superbly written . . . a stunning work. * Kirkus * [A] masterpiece . . . Kelley wrote intricate novels that identified with the rejection of dominant social orders. * Public Books * Kelley blended fantasy and fact to construct an alternative world whose sweep and complexity drew comparisons to James Joyce and William Faulkner. * New York Times * Brilliant . . . The rare first novel that makes future ones seem both inevitable and exciting. * New Yorker *


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