Cora Moten's "The Creeping Thing": A Pulp Fiction Story

Race and American Culture

Most readers have heard of "pulp" fiction—thrilling stories of adventure, romance, and danger. But do you know where the name "pulp" comes from? In this discussion, we'll talk about the origins of Black pulp fiction in the United States and about the African American newspapers that published "pulp" stories in their pages. Although forgotten today, these stories were read and enjoyed by thousands of Black Americans in the 1920s and 1930s. Finally, we'll discuss one forgotten gem from this era: Cora Moten's "The Creeping Thing," the first ever zombie story by an African American writer. Pulp magazines helped to shape many of the genres that readers know and love today—from detective stories to horror stories—​and returning to this wellspring of creativity can help us rethink the division between "literary" and "popular" fiction.

This program is the sixteenth in our ongoing "Race and American Culture" series. To access the excerpts we will use for the discussion, click here or visit any branch for a physical copy.

About Dr. Ian Afflerbach

Dr. Ian Afflerbach is an Associate Professor of American Literature at the University of North Georgia, where he teaches courses in African-American literature, modern American fiction, and the history of ideas. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, and has lived in Montreal, Vermont, North Carolina, and Germany. His first book was published in 2021, and he's currently working on a second, which examines the history of "selling out" in American culture.

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