George Wylie Henderson, known primarily for his novels
Ollie Miss
and
Jule , was also author of numerous short stories. While the stories were widely circulated in their day, appearing in the
New York Daily News
and
Redbook
magazine during the 1930s and 40s, they have largely escaped attention until now. Henderson narrates the everyday experiences of working-class characters in Alabama, Memphis, and New York City, providing a remarkable view of the Great Migration of blacks during the era of industrialization and of Harlem during the Depression. Henderson’s writing has been compared favorably to that of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, as it captures the life of the black migrant with a style that embraces simplicity and honesty. Collected here by literary scholar and editor David G. Nicholls, and contextualized with an informative introduction,
Harlem Calling
provides a unique perspective on the Harlem Renaissance and on the African American literary tradition.