The Lurking Place
by Clarence Major

“Clarence Major’s fiction has amazed me for years. And now The Lurking Place. This novel captures the late sixties in subtle ways that we seldom read. Major assumes the character of this narrator completely and fully, giving himself at once the narrative distance and fictive detachment required to render this story with building tension and expectancy. A wonderful addition to an already substantial oeuvre.” —Percival Everett, author of The Trees

What happens when the drive to succeed professionally collides with ambitions of the heart? In The Lurking Place, James Eric Lowell, a young Black poet, strives to advance his career and extend his whirlwind romance with his white lover, Sophia, among other romantic interludes. Set in New York City and Mexico during 1968 — a time of political upheaval and social change — this cinematic page-turner captivates the reader with its richly drawn settings, unforgettable characters, and timeless truths.

“In this subtle exploration of avocation and racial identity, Major resists conventional narrative structure in favor of taut, dialogue-driven scenes that capture the randomness of violence, the arbitrariness of prejudice, and the poignancy of love.” —Lucinda Roy, author of The Freedom Race

Author Clarence Major has published 12 novels, 16 collections of poetry, two volumes of short stories, and 10 works of nonfiction. He has contributed to The New Yorker, The Harvard Review, The American Poetry Review, The New York Times, and dozens of other periodicals. His poetry appears in Best American Poetry 2019. Among many other honors, Major received the National Book Award Bronze Medal, the Western States Book Award, the PEN-Oakland Reginald Lockett Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Award in 2015 for “Lifetime Achievement in the Arts”. Clarence Major lives in California.