Harlan Greene’s Latest, “Porgy’s Ghost”

As the city’s definitive intellect on DuBose Heyward and the Charleston Renaissance among many other areas of specialty, it is a special gift to host renowned author, historian and Lambda Literary Award-winner Harlan Greene for the launch of his new release Porgy’s Ghost. In partnership with the South Carolina Historical Society, we will learn insights about the research and development process to reveal the incredible story of Dorothy Heyward, a literary titan in her own right who contributed more to her husband’s success than many realize. In the year following what marked the 100-year anniversary of the original manuscript Porgo, Harlan’s new viewpoint on our history could not be more timely.

If you are unable to attend the event but would like to purchase one or more signed copies, please visit Buxton Books here.

About the Book

On the world stage, the opera Porgy and Bess is acclaimed as a distinctively American, yet universal, classic. Though scholars and the popular press have discussed it for nearly one hundred years, no one has factored in the major contributions of one of its forgotten authors—until now. Besides serving as a brief biography that illuminates Dorothy Heyward’s personal and professional life, which ranges from lighthearted whimsy to a descent into madness, what emerges in Porgy’s Ghost is a correction to a long-standing omission of Dorothy Heyward’s influence on Porgy, the novel written by her husband; Porgy, the play, mostly her creation; and Porgy and Bess, the opera often credited solely to George and Ira Gershwin. Fighting to restore her husband DuBose Heyward’s name to that work, she hid her own contributions to maximize his. Based on years of research in her archives and previously unknown materials, author Harlan Greene reveals a cypher of a woman who, in her lifetime and long after, was dismissed as unimportant.

About the Author

A native of Charleston, Harlan Greene is emeritus Scholar in Residence at the College of Charleston’s Addlestone Library. Previously its head of Special Collections and the director of Archival Services at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, he earlier served as archivist and interim director of the SC Historical Society, before founding and directing the NC Preservation Consortium. Returning to Charleston, he founded the archives at the Charleston County Public Library and worked in the college’s Jewish archives before creating its LGBTQ archives, the first in the state. Greene currently serves on the board of the Preservation Society of Charleston and is chair of the City of  Charleston’s Historical Commission. He lectures and publishes  frequently on various  topics relating to the history and culture of the Carolina Lowcountry. An award-winning novelist as well as being cited for his archival contributions, he has published books of literary biography, co-edited a volume on the Charleston Renaissance, and co-authored the standard reference book on Charleston slave badges and the slave hire system. Most recently, Charleston Magazine included Greene as one of the most 50 influential people in the last 50 years, calling him Charleston’s story teller. He is currently at work on a biography of Charleston artist William Halsey, and is involved in numerous projects to uncover unknown aspects of Charleston’s past.