{"product_id":"king-comus-paperback","title":"King Comus - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eWilliam Demby\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eMelanie Masterton\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePast and present collide in this posthumous, semiautobiographical masterpiece by the author of \u003ci\u003eBeetlecreek. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"One of the great novelists of the last 100 years.\" --Ishmael Reed, author of \u003ci\u003eMumbo Jumbo\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the present day, a Black American expat to Rome named D. reconnects with his former Army friend, Tillman, and their former commanding officer, Joe Stabat, to organize a gospel summit for the singer Little Antioch. In the 1940s, as D. becomes enmeshed in Tillman's large and boisterous family for the first time, Tillman recounts the story of his fabled ancestor King Comus. And in the early nineteenth century, master musician King Comus embarks on a grand journey to freedom from enslavement. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this time-bending tale of survival and kinship, the product of more than twenty years of literary labor, William Demby weaves elements of the neo-slave narrative and Afrofuturism into a panoramic vision encompassing the forces of empire, race, gender, and religion.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWilliam Demby\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 25, 1922, and attended college in Clarksburg, West Virginia, before enlisting in World War II and serving in Italy. He graduated from Fisk University in 1947 then moved abroad to Rome, where he spent the next two decades working as a novelist, journalist, and script translator and screenwriter for the Italian cinema. In the late 1960s, Demby joined the faculty at The College of Staten Island, dividing his time between the United States and Italy. His works include \u003ci\u003eBeetlecreek\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Catacombs\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLove Story Black\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eKing Comus\u003c\/i\u003e. In 2006, he was the recipient of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. He died in Sag Harbor, New York, in 2013. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eMelanie Masterton\u003c\/b\u003e is a lecturer at the California Institute of Technology. Her scholarly work appears in journals including \u003ci\u003eModern Language Notes\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eModernism\/modernity\u003c\/i\u003e, P\u003ci\u003eacific Coast Philology\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCalifornia Italian Studies\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eItalian Quarterly\u003c\/i\u003e. William Demby is a key protagonist in her current manuscript devoted to a cohort of African American writers, artists, and performers in postwar Rome and their Italian creative circles. With Ugo Rubeo and James C. Hall, she guest-edited \u003ci\u003eNew Perspectives on William Demby\u003c\/i\u003e, a special issue of \u003ci\u003eAfrican American Review\u003c\/i\u003e.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.86 x 7.99 x 5.19 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 12, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53377113489715,"sku":"9798217007370","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/yQ5xB6nVc-9798217007370.webp?v=1779314917","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/en-ca\/products\/king-comus-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}