PCBstamps US #4386 PB $2.44(4x61c)Richard Wright, MNH, (PB-1)

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

4386

Stamp Type

General Issue

Condition

Mint (NH)

Centering

F/VF

Stamp Format

Plate Block

Topic

Cultural - Black Heritage

Year of Issue

2009

Item Description

CHICAGO Author and former postal employee Richard Wright will be immortalized on a First-Class stamp tomorrow in the lobby of the Chicago Main Post Office on West Harrison Street when the stamp goes on sale nationwide Thursday, April 9, as the 25th inductee into the Postal Service’s Literary Arts series. Best remembered for his controversial 1940 novel, _Native Son_, and his 1945 autobiography, _Black Boy_, Wright drew on a wide range of literary traditions, including protest writing and detective fiction, to craft unflinching portrayals of racism in American society. Wright worked for the Chicago Post Office from 1927 to 1930 as a letter sorter.

Artwork for the 61-cent First-Class two-ounce stamp created by Kadir Nelson of San Diego, CA, features a portrait of Wright in front of snow-swept tenements on the South Side of Chicago, a scene that recalls the setting of _Native Son_. Nelson’s portrayal of Wright was based on a circa 1945 photograph. Carl T. Herrman of Carlsbad, CA, was the stamp designer. One hundred million stamps were printed in sheets of 20.

“This nation experienced a historical event in our most recent presidential election,” explained U.S. Postal Service Chicago District/Postmaster Gloria Tyson. “It was an event Richard Wright helped to bring about with his often controversial writings; writings of a world view on humanity and politics that were far too forward-thinking for his generation; writings full of anger, frustration, and indignation stemming from his early life experiences being poor and black in America; writings that appealed to &mdash and appalled &mdash both whites and blacks; writings that eventually helped to direct a change in how America addressed and discussed race relations.”

Scheduled to join Tyson in dedicating the stamp are WVON Radio talk show host Cliff Kelley; independent scholar (Boston) Carlos Brossard; University of Chicago Professor Jacqueline Goldsby; Poet and University Distinguished Professor at Chicago State University Dr. Haki R. Madhubuti and stamp artist Kadir Nelson.

Richard Wright’s daughter, Julia, will not be able to attend, but asked Postal Service representative Evelyn Fleming to deliver her remarks:

“When a young Barack Obama came to Chicago in his 20s to work as a community organizer, he made imaginary chains between his life and the faces he saw, borrowing other people's memories. ‘In this way, he wrote in _Dreams From My Father_, ‘I tried to take possession of the city, make it my own. (...) The mailman I saw was Richard Wright, delivering mail before his first book sold.’”

Continued Fleming, in delivering Julia Wright’s remarks, “In my father’s case, letters and their delivery played an important role in his childhood when he watched his grandfather spend his last years writing letters to the War Department insisting that his war pension be granted at last. This was never to be because the white officer who had discharged him from the Union Army distorted his name from Wilson to Vinson and the slave who broke free to fight the Rebels became invisible. My father wrote in “Black Boy”: ‘I used to get the mail early in the morning and read him the letter. Like K of Kafka's novel, he tried desperately to persuade the authorities of his true identity right up to the day of his death and failed.’CHICAGO &mdash Author and former postal employee Richard Wright will be immortalized on a First-Class stamp tomorrow in the lobby of the Chicago Main Post Office on West Harrison Street when the stamp goes on sale nationwide Thursday, April 9, as the 25th inductee into the Postal Service’s Literary Arts series. Best remembered for his controversial 1940 novel, _Native Son_, and his 1945 autobiography, _Black Boy_, Wright drew on a wide range of literary traditions, including protest writing and detective fiction, to craft unflinching portrayals of racism in American society. Wright worked for the Chicago Post Office from 1927 to 1930 as a letter sorter.
The Scan is the stamp (s) you will receive. Please contact me with any questions. Thanks!

Seller Information

Seller

dystamps (42263)

Registered Since

12/27/2006

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Item Location

Florida, United States

Ships To

United States, Mexico

Returns Accepted

Yes

Returns Policy

Money Back - Returns Accepted within 14 Days (Buyer pays Shipping Cost)

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