Literature and Culture of the Chicago Renaissance; Postmodern and Postcolonial Development; First Edition

The Chicago Renaissance has long been considered a less important literary movement than the Harlem Renaissance. While the Harlem Renaissance began and flourished during the 1920s, but faded during the 1930s, the Chicago Renaissance originated between 1890 and 1910, gathered momentum in the 1930s, and paved the way for the postmodern and postcolonial developments in American Literature. To portray Chicago as a modern, spacious, cosmopolitan city, the writers of the Chicago Renaissance developed a new style of writing based on a distinct cultural aesthetic that reflected ethnically diverse sentiments and aspirations. Whereas the Harlem Renaissance was dominated by African American writers, the Chicago Renaissance originated from the interactions between African and European American writers. Much like modern jazz, writings in the movement became a hybrid, cross-cultural product of black and white Americans. The second period of the movement developed at two stages. In the first stage, the older generation of African American writers continued to deal with racial issues. In the second stage, African American writers sought solutions to racism by comparing American culture with other cultures. The younger generation of African American writers, such as Ishmael Reed, Charles Johnson, and Colson Whitehead, followed their predecessors and explored Confucianism, Buddhist Ontology, and Zen. This volume features essays by both veteran African Americanists and upcoming young critics. It is highlighted by essays from scholars located around the globe, such as Toru Kiuchi of Japan, Yupei Zhou of China, Mamoun Alzoubi of Jordan, and Babacar M'Baye of Senegal. It will be invaluable reading for students of Americanists at all levels. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 List of figures 9 List of contributors 10 Acknowledgements 13 Introduction 14 PART I: Interactions of African and European American Writers 26 1. The Chicago Renaissance, Dreiser, and Wright’s Spatial Narrative 28 Notes 50 References 51 2. Chicago as Metaphor in the Writings of Theodore Dreiser and Richard Wright: Tracing the Literary Lineage 53 References 69 3. Theodore Dreiser’s “Nigger Jeff,” Richard Wright’s “Big Boy Leaves Home,” and Lynching 71 Notes 82 References 83 4. Chicago in Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, Farrell’s Studs Lonigan, and Wright’s Native Son 85 Notes 99 References 100 5. “Careful Candors”: Gwendolyn Brooks, T. S. Eliot, and the Poetics of Social Critique 101 Notes 114 PART II: African American Writers and Race Issues 118 6. The Illinois Writers’ Project and Its Impact on the Second Chicago Renaissance 120 The Chicago IWP Office 122 The Significance of the Chicago Office in American Letters 138 Notes 140 References 141 7. Wright’s The Long Dream as Racial and Sexual Discourse 144 Notes 159 References 159 8. Frank Marshall Davis of Chicago and the Young Barack Obama of Hawaii 161 Notes 174 References 177 9. Landscapes of the Imagination: Clarence Major, Leon Forrest, and the Black Chicago Renaissance 179 Notes 186 References 186 10. The Intuitionist and The Underground Railroad: Colson Whitehead Works on Race Issues 188 The Intuitionist’s Mysterious Narration 189 Vagary as the Author’s Tool 191 A New Metaphor for Inhumanity 193 Intuitionism, Sight, and Invisibility 195 Communicating with Everything 198 The Perfect Elevator/Novel 200 Delivering Messages 203 The Underground Railroad 205 References 212 PART III: Cross-Cultural Visions in African American Postmodernism and Postcolonialism 214 11. Wright and Transnationalism: A Reading of Pagan Spain 216 References 239 12. The Western and Eastern Thoughts of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man 241 Notes 255 References 256 13. Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo: A Reading through Confucianism 258 References 273 14. Neo-HooDooism in Ishmael Reed’s Japanese by Spring: Lost Boundary between Fact and Fiction 276 Notes 294 References 297 15. “All narratives are lies, man, an illusion”: Buddhism, Postmodernism, and Postcolonialism in Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage and Dreamer 300 References 311 16. African Legacy and Chicago Politics in Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father 312 Defining Transnationalism and Cosmopolitanism 313 Africa as Absence and Presence 314 Barry and Africa 315 Kenyan Neocolonial Politics in Dreams from My Father 319 The Faith from Home: Cosmopolitanism in Obama’s Chicago Politics 322 Cosmopolitanism as Cross-racial Alliance and Activism in Dreams 324 Notes 328 References 328 Index 329 "The Chicago Renaissance has long been considered a less important literary movement for American modernism than the Harlem Renaissance. The Chicago Renaissance had its origin around the turn of the nineteenth century, from 1890 to 1910, gathered momentum in the 30s, and paved the way for the postmodern and postcolonial development in American literature ever since. Yoshinobu Hakutani aims to shed light on this seldom studied, yet pivotal period, by studying some of its most influential works and authors, from Theodore Dreiser in the late 1800's to Richard Wright through the mid 1900's." -- Provided by publisher The Chicago Renaissance has long been considered a less important literary movement for American modernism than the Harlem Renaissance. The Chicago Renaissance had its origin around the turn of the nineteenth century, from 1890 to 1910, gathered momentum in the 30s, and paved the way for the postmodern and postcolonial development in American literature even since. Yoshinobu Hakutani aims to shed light on this seldom studied, yet pivotal period, by studying some of it's most influential works and authors, from Theodore Dreiser in the late 1800's to Richard Wright through the mid 1900's