Great Black Russian: A Novel on the Life and Times of Alexander Pushkin

Ebony, Oct, 1989

Great Black Russian: A Novel on the Life and Times of Alexander Pushkin

At the time of his death on October 27, 1987, John Oliver Killens, the founder and nurturing spirit of the Harlem Writers Guild, was putting the finishing touches on what would become his last novel -- a sweeping, historical work focusing on the life of Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, recognized by most scholars as the father of Russian literature. Though Killens, who succumbed to cancer at age 71, did not live to see this broad expanse of a work in print, the final product, completed under the guidance of his wife, Grace, undoubtedly bears his imprimatur.

For Great Black Russian: A Novel on the Life and Times of Alexander Pushkin (Wayne State University Press, $22.95) is vintage Killens, harking back to earlier works such as Great Gittin' Up Morning, his 1965 biography of Denmark Vesey and novels such as Youngblood (1954) and And Then They Heard the Thunder (1963). It is both a meticulously researched treatise on Pushkin, the great grandson of an Abyssinian king who rose from slavery to become a great engineer in Russia, and an imaginative piece of fiction that illuminates this towering literary figure.

Killens, who as an influential teacher and activist was a towering figure in his own right, expands the novel from the premise that Pushkin's African ancestry -- which is often overlooked or mitigated by White scholars--not only informed his poetry, but was one of the factors that motivated him to write. Killens draws a portrait of Pushkin as a complex character who waged war against the injustices and extravagances of the Russian nobility in both his words and political activism.

Great Black Russian stands as a great testament to two men who dedicated their lives to literature and the eradication of oppression -- Alexander Pushkin and John Oliver Killens.

Destination Freedom, a stirring and innovative radio program of the late 1940s that dramatized the lives of successful and historically significant Black men and women, stood as a beacon of enlightenment in an era when insultingly distorted depictions of Blacks--not to mention discrimination -- were rampant. Broadcast over WMAQ, the Chicago affiliate of NBC, the weekly, half-hour feature and its talented creator, Richard Durham, captivated millions during the course of its two-year run.

Now comes Richard Durham's Destination Freedom: Scripts from Radio's Black Legacy, 1940-50 (Praeger, $45), a lovingly compiled tribute to the show and its late creator, edited by J. Fred MacDonald, a history professor at Northern Illinois University. The book consists of 15 of the most important Destination Freedom scripts, each introduced with a short history of the subject. Among the historical figures and events covered in the book are: Harriet Tubman, Denmark Vesey and the end of Reconstruction. Destination Freedom offers insights into lives of the persons and events the radio show attempted to depict as well as into the era in which this show was produced.

Between You And Me (Doubleday, $18.95), the sixth book written by entertainer Pearl Bailey, is a personal memoir that recounts Ms. Bailey's multifacted career -- beginning with her decision to enroll in Georgetown University at an age when most people are thinking of retiring and continuing with her work as special advisor to the UN.

Harlem Renaissance: Revaluations (Garland Publishing, Inc. $43), critical essays by distinguished scholars explore various aspects of the Harlem Renaissance including literature, music, women writers and Afro-French influences, edited by Amritjit Singh, Stanley Brodwin and William S. Shriver.

Miles: The Autobiography (Simon & Schuster, $21.95), unvarnished autobiography of legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, traces in graphic detail his rise to the fore of the innovative bebop movement, his relationship with such jazz giants as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderly and John Coltrane, his three volatile marriages (including his stormy union to actress Cicely Tyson), and his bouts with heroin, cocaine and alcohol addiction; written with Quincy Troupe.