LGBT Book & Video Blog

Gentleman Jigger

Mention the 1920s' explosion of African-American art and literature known as the Harlem Renaissance and figures like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston come quickly to mind. The name Richard Bruce Nugent, novelist and good friend to both these greats, may not ring so familiar — but that's quickly changing. Nugent featured prominently in the 2004 film Brother to Brother. Now his first novel is finally in print. Unpublished until this year Gentleman Jigger augments Nugent's short story, "Smoke, Lilies and Jade."

Nugent continues to blow the cover off historical Harlem's arty gay scene, breaking new ground 80 years after the circumspect innuendos of Hughes, Wally Thurman and others. Arnold Rampersad says it succinctly in his forward to the book: "Almost three decades before James Baldwin there was Bruce Nugent... fearless pioneer."

Editor Thomas Wirth's introduction sets the stage for a novel that closely matches Nugent's life in many ways, while diverging in others. What's clear is that the book is a genuine insider account, faithful to the hothouse creative bloom and subversive sensuality of Harlem in those heady days. Full Book review: Gentleman Jigger, Xtra.ca, Canada. Purchase Gentleman Jigger: A Novel.

posted by Tom Jackson @ Thursday, March 27, 2008