Book Description
A major literary rediscovery, this is a searing first novel written inside Trenton State Penitentiary in 1968. The first literary depiction of black gangster life, this hard boiled novel evokes a lost time in African-American culture. It's based on authentic first-hand Newark street experiences with unique insight into the psychology, motivations and lingo of the shadowy figures who inhabit the ghetto night: pimps, whores, junkies, dope dealers, winos, corrupt cops, and young hoodlums.
The writing inspired "black experience" legends as Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim, and is informed by the disciplined and inspired prose of Jim Thompson, Charles Willeford, and Chester Himes.
About the Author
Nathan C. Heard, serving time for armed robbery, was released Christmas Eve on the strength of this book, which also changed the rest of his life. He taught creative writing at Rutgers; had a column in the New York Times in the 70's; acted in Blaxploitation films; worked as a jazz drummer; and wrote another well-received novel, Cold Fire Burning (Amok). He continues to live in Newark.