Nella Larsen and Passing in NYPL's Collections

Passing, a new film based on Nella Larsen’s novel of the same name, was released by Netflix for streaming online earlier this month.

Larsen was the first Black woman to graduate from The New York Public Library’s Library School (1911-1926), which provided library training. She went on to become a librarian at the 135th Street branch of The New York Public Library, placing Larsen at the center of the cultural expansion we now call the Harlem Renaissance. In the early 1920s, Nella Larsen was a member of the Harlem elite, rubbing shoulders with some of the era's most famous names like W.E.B. Du Bois, Jessie Redmon Fauset, and Carl Van Vechten.

During her brief literary career, Larsen wrote dramas about Black middle-class life starring driven, spirited heroines struggling to figure themselves out in a world determined to tell them who they should be. Larsen’s characters live life on their own terms by confronting perceptions of race, sexuality, and gender. Passing (1929) is one of Larsen’s two published novels—the other is Quicksand (1928). She also authored several short stories, and made history as the first African American woman to win a Guggenheim Award for creative writing in 1930. That same year she was accused of plagiarism. The claims were unsubstantiated, but Larsen retreated from public life and never published again. For many decades, her work went understudied and unread until, like many other women writers of the Harlem Renaissance, it was unearthed by Black Feminist scholars and critics in the 1960s and 70s.

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture holds archival materials of Nella Larsen in its Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division (MARB), and The New York Public Library provides access to media that allows readers to explore Larsen’s work and legacy.

The Nella Larsen Letters

The Nella Larsen Letters consist of two letters written by Ms. Larsen to Edward Wasserman discussing the social event of the decade—the 1928 wedding of Countee Cullen and W.E.B. Du Bois' daughter, Yolande.

Live From the Reading Room: Nella Larsen to 'Eddie'

Here’s a preview of what’s in the collection in the Schomburg Center: Live from the Reading Room, a podcast series in 2016, shared a portion of Ms. Larsen’s correspondence.

The Librarian Is In Podcast Episode on Passing

The Librarian Is In is The New York Public Library's podcast about books, culture, and what to read next. In episode 169, “When Our Interests and Book Picks Collide,” our hosts discussed the novel Passing after Larsen's inclusion in the Voices of the Harlem Renaissance USPS stamp collection.

Get the Inside Story on the Film of Nella Larsen's Passing

Watch Schomburg Center Director Joy Bivins discuss the personal and community impact of someone of mixed race secretly passing for white (or Black) with CBS reporter Michelle Miller. The conversation was part of a CBS preview of the Netflix film Passing, which is based on Nella Larsen’s book.

Passing: Book Club Pick for NYPL and WNYC's Virtual Book Club, November/December 2021

Passing by Nella Larsen is the latest pick for NYPL and WNYC's Virtual Book Club. Join NYPL and WNYC's monthly book club live stream on Thursday, December 2 at 7 PM. Borrow Passing by Nella Larsen (and more than 300,000 others) for free through the Library’s e-reader app SimplyE, available for iOS and Android devices. Find an upcoming book discussion at a branch near you.

Read Passing for Free on SimplyE or Reserve for Pickup through our Catalog

Explore the literary genius of Larsen through her books available through the NYPL catalog. They’re available on SimplyE, NYPL’s free audiobook and e-reader app available for iOS and Android devices.