John Killens
John Oliver Killens was a major voice of African American protest fiction whose novels dramatized Black resistance from slavery through World War II. He cofounded the Harlem Writers Guild, which nurtured a generation of Black writers.
Works
- YoungbloodComing-of-age novel following a black family's migration and struggle in the American South
- And Then We Heard the ThunderNovel of black soldiers' experiences during World War II and their fight against racism
- SippiNovel exploring the civil-rights struggle and violence in the American Deep South
- The CotillionSatirical novel of class ambition and pretension in black middle-class Harlem society
- Great Gittin' Up MorningEpic novel of the civil-rights movement and the spiritual awakening of African Americans