{"product_id":"beetlecreek-william-demby-introduction-by-s-a-cosby","title":"Beetlecreek \/\/\/ William Demby, introduction by S.A. Cosby \/\/\/ new","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA rediscovered “masterpiece” (\u003cem\u003eKirkus\u003c\/em\u003e) of Black American literature first published in 1950, about an unlikely friendship in a West Virginia town\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter several years of seclusion in the Black quarter of Beetlecreek, West Virginia, in the precarious 1930s, a retired carnival worker named Bill Trapp strikes up a chance friendship with Johnny Johnson, a Pittsburgh teenager transplanted into his uncle’s home. Bill is white. Johnny is Black. Both are searching for something that will give meaning to their lives. While Bill tries to court favor in the community, Johnny joins a local gang; meanwhile, their new friendship kindles hope that there is something for each of them beyond the bounds of Beetlecreek. But as the church society’s Fall Festival approaches, the battle between the repressive town and the aspirations of its trapped inhabitants comes to a nail-biting head.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFirst published in 1950, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBeetlecreek\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e stands as a moving condemnation of provincialism and fundamentalism, and a classic of Black American literature. Both a critique of racial hypocrisy and a new direction for the African American novel, it occupied fresh territory for its time: neither the gritty realism of Richard Wright nor the ironic modernism of Ralph Ellison.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBIO\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"slot about-contributor\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"seemoreenable\" id=\"seemore-0\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"overview\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWilliam Demby\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 25, 1922, and attended college in Clarksburg, West Virginia, before enlisting in World War II and serving in Italy. He graduated from Fisk University in 1947 then moved abroad to Rome, where he spent the next two decades working as a novelist, journalist, and script translator and screenwriter for the Italian cinema. In the late 1960s, Demby joined the faculty at The College of Staten Island, dividing his time between the United States and Italy. His works include\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBeetlecreek\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Catacombs\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLove Story Black\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eKing Comus\u003c\/i\u003e. In 2006, he was the recipient of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. He died in Sag Harbor, New York, in 2013.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“One of the great novelists of the last 100 years.” \u003cstrong\u003e-- Ishmael Reed, author of \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMumbo Jumbo\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“[Demby is] a true artist.” \u003cstrong\u003e-- Arna Bontemps, author of \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBlack Thunder\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“[A] quiet masterpiece.” \u003cstrong\u003e-- \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e[P]\u003c\/strong\u003e  \u003cem\u003eVintage  \/  \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eJanuary 13, 2026\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.8\" H x 7.9\" L x 5.1\" W (0.5 lbs) 240 pages\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44917570240688,"sku":"9798217007318","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0515\/3832\/9776\/files\/BEETLECREEK.jpg?v=1768341659","url":"https:\/\/checkout.bembrooklyn.com\/products\/beetlecreek-william-demby-introduction-by-s-a-cosby","provider":"BEM | books \u0026 more (Online)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}