Clarence L. Cooper, Jr.

Clarence L. Cooper Jr. (* 1934 in Detroit , † 1978 in New York City ) was an American writer. He wrote novels and short stories about the dark side of African American life.

life and work

Cooper's books are about drug addiction and crime, honest business people's problems with gangsters, and black Muslims' feelings towards their white mother. Little is known about Cooper's life; his debut novel The Scene is believed to be at least partially autobiographical. It is known that he worked as an editor for the Chicago Messenger around 1955 and probably started using heroin around 1955 . Cooper's books have been reprinted by various publishers. The Scene was published in 1960 by the respected publisher Random House and was well discussed, but other books were only published in paperback, with Regency Books . Cooper was imprisoned in Detroit in the early 1960s. The Farm , his last book (1967), is set in the state drug therapy facility Lexington in Kentucky, a so-called US narcotics farm Cooper's addiction, the alienation from his family in Detroit, the split with close friends, the lack of success and poverty led to his early death. He died drunk on the street in New York, near the YMCA on 23rd Street in Manhattan .

Novels and short stories

• The Scene , Random House, 1960. ISBN 0-393-31463-4 .
• The Syndicate . Newsstand, Chicago 1960. Under the author's name Robert Chestnut .
• Weed , Regency, 1961.
• The Dark Messenger , Regency, 1962.
• Black; Two Short Novels , Regency, 1962. Includes Yet Princess Follow and Not We Many .
• The Farm , Crown Publishers, 1967. Repr. ISBN 0-393-31785-4 .

literature

• Serendipity Books, African-American, African & Caribbean Booklist, 1998.
• Marc Gerald: Old School Noir . In: salon.com , March 1997.
• Remembering Regency . In: Earl Kemp (ed.): El 11 , Volume 2, No. 6, December 2003. In it: Howard DeVore and LJ Hurst on: RB109 Weed , Earl Kemp on: RB116 The Dark Messenger , Buck Coulson on: RB313 Black! . Buck Coulson's remarks from: Yandro 122, 1963.
• O'Neill: Down and out in New York . In: The Guardian , UK, 13 September 2007.

Web links

• Marc Gerald. " Old School Noir", Salon.com , March 7, 1997 (English).
• Tony O'Neill: Down and Out in New York , Guardian , UK, September 13, 2007 (English)
• Earl Kemps Fanzine el 11 : el 11 , vol. 2, no. 6, December 2003. Remembering Regency (English)
• Cannongate Press Clarence Cooper Jnr , meetatthegate.com (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Clarence Cooper Jnr ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. meetatthegate.com , Cannongate website, brief information on life and work (English). 
2. ↑ The publisher and editor Harlan Ellison liked Cooper's work. Earl Kemp writes in retrospect: Clarence Cooper could well be the single most outstanding writer to appear from Regency Books, and we published three of them . On Regency Books and a little bit about Cooper's family in: el 11, vol. 2, no. 6, Dec., 2003 Remembering Regency  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Notes on the books, covers, and back covers of the Regency paperback books (English).  
3. Jump up 2 to 5 years for drug possession in Wayne County jail.
4. ^ ^{A b} Tony O'Neill: Down and out in New York . In: The Guardian , September 13, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2008. 
5. ↑ William S. Burroughs commented on the book. About a documentary about the Lexington Institute: The Narcotic Farm , Wheel Me Out.com ( Memento of the original from June 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and The Narcotic Farm  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English).