Posthumous in Marseille: Claude McKay’s Transnational Provenance(s)

This essay considers Claude McKay’s Romance in Marseille’s troubled journey to publication as a uniquely instructive portal onto the phenomenon of posthumous publishing on a transatlantic scale. As a case study that brings together translation, copyright law, and the recurrent use of “discovery” narratives, the history of Romance’s posthumous release refracts these ongoing and emergent aspects of the Harlem Renaissance’s transnational legacies. Along the way, the essay tracks McKay’s posthumous publications to date, including the many failed attempts to bring Romance out of the shadows, and ultimately addresses how the contemporary expiration of copyright protections for most Harlem Renaissance authors is poised to radically affect scholarly engagement with the period.