From “master of language” (The New York Times) John Edgar Wideman, a reissue of the revered trilogy that launched his career—two novels and story collection all set in Wideman’s own hometown.

Damballah, Hiding Place, and Sent for You Yesterday provide a stunning introduction to the uncompromising work of John Edgar Wideman, whose literary achievements have inspired The New York Times to name him “one of America’s premier writers of fiction.”

Damballah’s narratives examine the vexed history of Homewood, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania neighborhood whose origins are rooted in a time when slavery was still legal in the United States of America. The novels Hiding Place and Sent for You Yesterday personalize and interrogate that history’s presence in the contemporary lives of Homewood people and all Americans.

Deeply concerned that designations such as “economically oppressed” or “Black” continue to dismiss and marginalize rather than embrace communities like the one in which he was raised, John Edgar Wideman—employing words on the page as his weapon—has dedicated himself to recording the weight, beauty, complexity, and justice that he believes Homewood’s voices, stories, and lives have earned and deserve.

In 1983, The Homewood Trilogy signaled the arrival of a major voice in American literature. Forty years later, this edition of the Trilogy celebrates Wideman’s ongoing contribution by offering these masterworks to a new generation of readers.

About The Author

John Edgar Wideman

John Edgar Wideman’s books include, among others, Look for Me and I’ll Be Gone, You Made Me Love You, American Histories, Writing to Save a Life, Brothers and Keepers, Philadelphia Fire, Fatheralong, Hoop Roots, and Sent for You Yesterday. He won the PEN/Faulkner Award twice and has twice been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and National Book Award. He is a MacArthur Fellow and a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. He divides his time between New York and France.

Product Details

Publisher: Scribner (November 14, 2023)
Length: 576 pages
ISBN13: 9781982148898

Raves and Reviews

"[A] brilliant trio of books... Aptly described as an urban Black complement to Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha novels and a prose analogue to playwright August Wilson’s Pittsburgh-set 'Century Cycle,' this masterly, transformative work of remembrance is nothing short of a masterpiece." —Library Journal

“A writer’s writer.” —The Chicago Tribune

Praise for John Edgar Wideman's Look For Me and I'll Be Gone

"Seamlessly fusing history with personal tragedy, [these] stories present swirling collage-portraits of the black American experience.”
—Wall Street Journal, 10 Best Books of 2021

“Master of language.”
—New York Times Book Review

"Mr. Wideman is one of the great tragedians of American literature."
—Wall Street Journal

"Philosophical, ruminative, and alive with wordplay ... there is plenty here to satisfy fans of captivating literary storytelling."
—Booklist (starred review)

Praise for John Edgar Wideman's Brothers and Keepers:

"Brave and brilliant, an almost frightening thing to behold."
—Philadelphia Inquirer

"Powerful and disturbing... Brothers and Keepers is guaranteed to shock and sadden."
—Washington Post Book World

"A rare triumph... Mr. Wideman has succeeded brilliantly in both understanding his brother's life and coming to terms with his own."
—New York Times Book Review

"If you care at all about brotherhood and dignity and other such things, this is a must-read book."
—Denver Post

"[A] sensitive and intimate portrayal of the lives and divergent paths taken by two brothers."
—The New York Times