Carl Van Vechten's 'Nigger Heaven': Envisioning and Reinventing American Transatlantic Bohemia in Harlem

This study of Carl Van Vechten's controversial novel, Nigger Heaven, creates a transatlantic model as a new platform to judge Van Vechten's work. The paper sets forth the argument that Van Vechten's importance in the modernist movement, as well as his significant contribution to the Harlem Renaissance, is a worthwhile addition to studies in the field. An analysis of transatlantic modernism is developed in context with Van Vechten's earlier works. The study culminates with a close reading of the multiple elements of transatlantic/transnational/cosmopolitan elements of Harlem presented in Nigger Heaven.