Author. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he was a noted novelist, editor, poet, playwright and literary critic. After earning his literary degree from University of Southern California, he relocated to Harlem, New York, in 1925. There he established the "Outlet" magazine as editor and became a scathing critic of the bourgeois attitudes that motivated what was known as the Harlem Renaissance. Thurman published the experimental journal "Fire!!" (1926), which was purely artistic in intent and conception, followed by the essay, "Negro Artists and the Negro" (1927). His best-known novels were "Harlem" (1929) and "Infants of the Spring" (1932), a satire of what he believed were the overrated creative figures of the Harlem scene. His other literary contributions included "Harlem, A Forum of Negro Life" (1928), "Blacker the Berry" (1929), "The Interne" (1932) and "The Sea" (1940). He also wrote screenplays, poetry, short fiction and was regarded as the spokesman for the younger generation of Harlem artists. Thurman became a reader for a major New York publishing company and the first African American to work in such a position. He died at age 32 in New York City.
Author. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he was a noted novelist, editor, poet, playwright and literary critic. After earning his literary degree from University of Southern California, he relocated to Harlem, New York, in 1925. There he established the "Outlet" magazine as editor and became a scathing critic of the bourgeois attitudes that motivated what was known as the Harlem Renaissance. Thurman published the experimental journal "Fire!!" (1926), which was purely artistic in intent and conception, followed by the essay, "Negro Artists and the Negro" (1927). His best-known novels were "Harlem" (1929) and "Infants of the Spring" (1932), a satire of what he believed were the overrated creative figures of the Harlem scene. His other literary contributions included "Harlem, A Forum of Negro Life" (1928), "Blacker the Berry" (1929), "The Interne" (1932) and "The Sea" (1940). He also wrote screenplays, poetry, short fiction and was regarded as the spokesman for the younger generation of Harlem artists. Thurman became a reader for a major New York publishing company and the first African American to work in such a position. He died at age 32 in New York City.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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