I Am Elijah Thrush

On its surface, I Am Elijah Thrush is the story of Millicent De Frayne and her sensational half-century campaign to win the love of Elijah Thrush. Elijah, after ruining the lives of countless men and women, is finally in love ＂incorrectly, if not indecently,＂ with his great-grandson, Bird of Heaven. To support an unusual habit, a young Black man, Albert Peggs, reluctantly agrees to tell their remarkable story. It is in this telling that the ambitions, desires, and true natures of Elijah, Millicent, and Albert come to light. With a delicately controlled balance of whimsy and pathos, James Purdy gives us this comedy of the heroic, the tragic, and the truly bizarre.

Met with critical bewilderment upon its initial publication fifty years ago, this new edition offers a Foreword by Robert J. Corber illuminating Purdy’s ＂complicated allegory＂ of objectification, desire, and race in the immediate post-civil rights moment.

James Purdy (Author)
James Purdy (1914-2009) was an American novelist, short-story writer, poet, and playwright who, from his debut in 1956, published over a dozen novels, and many collections of poetry, short stories, and plays. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages and in 2013 his short stories were collected in The Complete Short Stories of James Purdy.

Robert J. Corber (Foreword By)
Robert J. Corber is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor in American Institutions and Values at Trinity College. He is the author and editor of several books, including, most recently, Cold War Femme: Lesbianism, National Identity, and Hollywood Cinema.