Among black American short-story writers who came into prominence during the 1960s and 1970s, James Alan McPherson is one of the most gifted. Appearing in numerous "year's best" or "prize" story collections, anthologies, and periodicals, McPherson's works have won many awards, including the Atlantic Monthly "Firsts" Award in 1968, the Atlantic Monthly grant in 1969, a National Institute of Arts and Letters grant for Hue and Cry in 1970, a Rockefeller grant that same year, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1972 to 1973, the Pulitzer Prize for Elbow Room in 1978, and a MacArthur Foundation Award in 1981. McPherson has also received generally positive critical notices from British, American, and Japanese reviewers, all of whom cite his keen perception of human nature, his understanding of the insensitivities and betrayals of which all men are guilty, his powerful themes, his technical skill, and his artistic integrity.

McPherson's artistic integrity, admirable for its own sake, is also important...