Richard Wright was one of the first African-Americans to rise to gain fame and fortune as a professional writer. He published in numerous literary genres, including, short stories, autobiographies, novels, haikus and other forms of poetry, and a folk history. His influence went far beyond his own work, affecting the literary careers of many other African-Americans, including James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison and Margaret Walker. Among Wright’s literary achievements were his ability to portray Black America to White America in a stark new light and his understanding that words could be used as weapons in the America’s racial conflict. In American Hunger he wrote, “I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an ec

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First published 03 March 2005

Citation: Fowler, Gregory W.. "Richard Wright". The Literary Encyclopedia. 3 March 2005.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4813, accessed 9 February 2010.]