Clarence L. Cooper Jr. (1934 – 1978) was an American author.

Biography

Clarence Cooper Jr. wrote seven crime

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

that describe life in Black America, in the underworld of drugs and violence and in jail (''The Farm''). Cooper worked as an editor for '' The Chicago Messenger'' around 1955. He was said to have started taking heroin at this time.Clarence Cooper Jnr
profile, Canongate Press His first book, ''The Scene'', was a success with the critics. It had been published by serious Random House, but his other three books were published by Regency, a pure paperback publisher, while Cooper was in prison in Detroit: ''Weed'' (1961), ''The Dark Messenger'' (1962) and ''Yet Princes Follow'' together with ''Not We Many'', as ''Black: Two Short Novels'' (1962).

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

was his editor.''el'' 11, vol. 2, no. 6, December 2003 the ''regency'' covers
/ref> His last book, ''The Farm'', plays at the Lexington prison for drug addicts, once called U.S. Narcotics Farm. Cooper's addiction and a growing alienation from those around him, perhaps driven by the hostile response to his fiction, all contributed to his early destitute death.

Death

Cooper died penniless, strung out and alone in the 23rd street YMCA New York City in 1978.

Published works

* ''The Syndicate'' (1960), as "Robert Chestnut", Chicago: Newsstand * ''The Scene'' (1960), described by the Library of Congress as autobiographical. . * ''Weed'' (1961). * ''The Dark Messenger'' (1962) * ''Black'', 2 short novels: Yet Princes Follow, Not We Many (1962) * ''The Farm'' (1967). Crown Publishers. repr. . * ''Black'' (1997), a collection of three short novels: "The Dark Messenger", "Yet Princes Follow", "Not We Many". . * ''Weed and The Syndicate'' (1998)

References

Bibliography

* Serendipity Books, ''African-American, African & Caribbean'' booklist, 1998

External links

* Marc Gerald.
Old School Noir
, Salon.com, 1997-03-07 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Clarence Jr. 1934 births 1978 deaths African-American novelists 20th-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century African-American writers African-American male writers