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

Biography

Clarence Cooper Jr. was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in 1934.Clarence Cooper Jnr
Canongate Press . He wrote seven crime

novels A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of '' ...

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. His first book, ''The Scene'', was a success with the critics; according to ''

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'': “Not even

Nelson Algren Nelson Algren (born Nelson Ahlgren Abraham; March 28, 1909 – May 9, 1981) was an American writer. His 1949 novel '' The Man with the Golden Arm'' won the National Book Award and was adapted as the 1955 film of the same name. Algren articulate ...

's ''

The Man With the Golden Arm ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' is a 1955 American independent drama film noir directed by Otto Preminger, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren. Starring Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang and Darren Mc ...

'' burns with the ferocious intensity you’ll find here." ''The Scene'' had been published by

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, but Cooper's other three books were published by Regency, a pulp 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 science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

was his editor. Cooper's last book, ''The Farm'', takes place 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

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New York City in 1978.

Published works

* ''The Scene'' (1960), described by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

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

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