'From Harlem to Marseilles': A Journey with Claude McKay

Seton Hall University’s Department of History will host a screening of Claude McKay: From Harlem to Marseille followed by a Q&A with French director Matthieu Verdeil from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 30, in Fahy Hall 7.

The screening presents a captivating voyage through the 1920s — from Harlem to Marseille, via Jamaica, Russia and Morocco — in the footsteps of Jamaican American writer Claude McKay.

A rebellious voice of the Harlem Renaissance, Claude McKay spent two decades traveling the world, immersing himself in artistic and political avant-gardes while building an enduring body of work. This remarkable documentary portrait, illustrated with rare archival footage and photographs, enriched with interviews, and set to a stirring soundtrack, brings his legacy to life.

The film is part of a series of cultural events marking the centenary of McKay’s stay in France (1923–1928). The program includes a film, a musical show, participatory performances, musical readings, conferences, symposiums and a range of publications: mckay100ans.com.

For over 20 years, film director and producer Matthieu Verdeil has pursued a distinctive path at the crossroads of history, memory, and artistic creation. He collaborates with contemporary artists such as Abraham Poincheval while dedicating much of his career to rediscovering overlooked figures and movements in cultural history, including Varian Fry and Claude McKay.

Verdeil first became interested in McKay in the early 2000s, recognizing him as both a pioneer of the Harlem Renaissance and a forerunner of global Black consciousness. He began extensive archival research, working with French publisher Renaud Boukh (Héliotropismes) and U.S. scholars Brent Hayes Edwards and Gary Edward Holcomb.

In 2021, Verdeil directed Claude McKay: From Harlem to Marseille, the first documentary devoted to the “vagabond poet.” Combining historical rigor with poetic sensitivity, the film was screened in France, the United States (New York, Washington, Chicago), Germany, the United Kingdom and beyond.

Building on this work, Verdeil launched Les Années McKay (2023–2028), under the patronage of Christiane Taubira. Among its highlights was KAY! Letters to a Lost Poet — a performance blending jazz, slam poetry, and archival material — created in collaboration with actor-musician Lamine Diagne and American poet Mike Ladd.

In 2024, Verdeil directed a documentary on Varian Fry, the unsung hero of World War II who saved numerous artists and intellectuals, including Marc Chagall, André Breton, Max Ernst, André Masson and Marcel Duchamp.

In 2025, he completed a second documentary on Claude McKay, narrated by Gaël Faye, scheduled for broadcast in 2026 alongside new book releases and an audio album of McKay’s texts.

Currently, Verdeil is preparing a new television film dedicated to the Harlem Renaissance, continuing his long-standing commitment to amplifying forgotten or marginalized voices whose legacies continue to shape our present, and to exploring the transatlantic fabric of Black thought.

This free event is supported through the generous co-sponsorship of the dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, the Center for Faculty Development and the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.

Categories: Arts and Culture