Richard Wright was born on a plantation near Natchez, Mississippi, on September 4, 1908. His grandparents had been slaves and his father left home when Richard was six. Wright grew up in poverty, staying often at homes of relatives.

Finally he moved with his mother to Memphis, where she found employment as a cook.

In 1915-16 Wright attended school for a few months, but his mother's illness forced him to leave. However, he continued to teach himself, secretly borrowing books from the "whites-only" library in Memphis.

Wright worked at various jobs, among others as a newspaper delivery boy. At the age of fifteen, he wrote his first story.

From 1925 to 1927 Wright lived in Memphis, where he worked for an optical company. During these years he read widely and decided to become a writer. Tired of segregation law, he moved to Chicago, hoping that life would be better there.

In 1932 Wright joined the Communist Party. In 1937 he moved to New York City and published "Uncle Tom's Children," a collection of stories about Southern racism.

In 1945 he went to France with his wife and his 4-year-old daughter. In 1953 he traveled in Africa. Yet he suffered from poor health and financial difficulties.

Wright died nearly penniless at the age of fifty-two in Paris. On November 28, 1960, at his request, his body was cremated and his ashes next with the ashes of a copy of "Black Boy."