The editor, playwright, critic, novelist, poet, screenwriter (1902-1934), arrived in Harlem during the second half of the Harlem Renaissance. His Harlem home at 267 West 139th Street was the place where the Black literary elite gathered.
His first novel Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life (1929) exposed prejudice within the Black community. This work was part of Thurman's "Immoral Independence." The gatherings at his home was viewed as a place where establishment could be challenged. Infants of Spring (1932) was a satire that continued the critical assault on, as he saw it, overrated creative figures Black socialists, who wrote for political purposes, rather than focusing on their literary development. Thurman believed too many Black writers wrote to satisfy the Black middle class and their white patrons.
His play, Harlem (1929) was a popular, if not a critical success--written with white associate, William Rapp. Harlem debuted at the Appollo Theater Feb. 20, 1929. Following Harlem was the critical and limited success of The Intern (1932). Thurman wrote two Hollywood screenplays: Tomorrow's Children and High School Girl (1934).
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