The Harlem Book Of The Dead

Authors: James Van Der Zee, Owen Dodson & Camille Billops

Publisher: Primary Information (2025)

Originally published in 1978, The Harlem Book of the Dead is a haunting and beautiful document of Black funerary traditions in Harlem, which captures the community’s mourning rituals through the lens of one of the Harlem Renaissance’s most celebrated photographers. These portraits are complimented and captioned by poems from Owen Dodson; a wide-ranging interview with Van Der Zee by the sculptor and filmmaker Camille Billops, who conceptualized and edited the publication; and a foreword by acclaimed writer Toni Morrison. Rounding out this new edition is an afterword by Karla FC Holloway, author of Passed On (2001).