Youngblood. [Inscribed Copy] by John O. Killens [John Oliver Killens (1916-1987)]

New York: The Dial Press, Inc., 1954. Second Printing. [6], 566pp. Orange paper-covered boards; dust jacket. Inscribed and signed by author on front endpaper. Minor wear and small losses to just jacket at head and tail of spine and at corners; hinge starting at half-title. A very good copy.

Novel about a Black family's struggles in a Southern factory town, set in 1920s-1930s Crossroads, Georgia. Killens, a native of Macon, Georgia, wrote six novels for adults; this is his first novel. Inscribed by the author: "To George, Best regards, John O. Killens, June, 1963." Moving to New York City in 1948, Killens "...was associated with Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Finally, in the late 1940s or early 1950s Killens joined three of his friends to form the Harlem Writers' Guild. Shortly thereafter he read the first chapter of his first novel, Youngblood, to the group; eventually Youngblood became the first work of fiction to come from the guild, which nurtured, among others, Louise Meriwether, Rosa Guy, Maya Angelou, and playwright-actor Ossie Davis." (ANB)