Porgy (novel)
1925 novel by DuBose Heyward
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Porgy is a novel written by the American author DuBose Heyward and published by the George H. Doran Company in 1925.[1]
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Modern Library edition 1934 | |
| Author | DuBose Heyward |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publication date | 1925 |
| Publication place | United States |
The novel tells the story of Porgy, a disabled street beggar living in the black tenements of Charleston, South Carolina, in the 1920s. The character was based on Charlestonian Samuel Smalls.[2] In some of the novel's passages, black characters speak in Gullah, a creole language that had developed among enslaved African Americans during the slavery years on the Sea Islands.
The novel was adapted for a 1927 play of the same name by Heyward and his wife, playwright Dorothy Heyward.[1] Even before completing the play, Heyward was in discussions with composer George Gershwin for an operatic version of his novel.[3] This was produced in 1935 as Porgy and Bess.[4]
