African Americana

8vo. Half-titles. Original publisher's white wrappers (minor toning); original publisher's dust jacket (minor toning).

FIRST LIMITED EDITION, number 60 of 250 copies. Horne's first and only published collection of poetry, the book is split into two sections. The first, "Letters Near a Suicide (1929-1930)" (pp. 8-27) and "Haverstraw (1960)" (pp. 29-40). A figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Horne trained and practiced as an ophthalmologist in Harlem. In 1925, "Letters" won second place in the Amy Spingarn Literary Award and they were published in Crisis and included in Alain Locke's New Negro anthology. Beginning in 1936, he served in several government roles, including Assistant Director of the Division of Negro Affairs, National Youth Administration; Housing and Home Finance Agency, and the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing, advising the Roosevelt administration on racism and a panoply of issues affecting Black Americans. RARE: online records indicate no copies ever sold at auction.