The Cambridge History of African American Literature

The first major twenty-first century history of four hundred years of black writing, The Cambridge History of African American Literature presents a comprehensive overview of the literary traditions, oral and print, of African-descended peoples in the United States. Expert contributors, drawn from the United States and beyond, emphasize the dual nature of each text discussed as a work of art created by an individual and as a response to unfolding events in American cultural, political, and social history. Unprecedented in scope, sophistication and accessibility, the volume draws together current scholarship in the field. It also looks ahead to suggest new approaches, new areas of study, and as yet undervalued writers and works. The Cambridge History of African American Literature is a major achievement both as a work of reference and as a compelling narrative and will remain essential reading for scholars and students in years to come. - Publisher. Machine generated contents note: Introduction Maryemma Graham and Jerry Ward Part I. African American Literature from Its Origins to the Twentieth Century: 1. Sounds of a tradition: the souls of Black folk F. Abiola Irele 2. Early print literature of Africans in America Philip Gould 3. The emergence of an African American literary canon, 1760-1820 Vincent Carretta 4. Dividing a nation, uniting a people: African American literature and the Abolitionist Movement Stefan Wheelock 5. African American literature and the slave narrative genre John Ernest 6. Writing freedom: race, religion, and revolution, 1820-1840 Kimberly Blockett 7. 'We wish to plead our own cause': independent Antebellum African American literature, 1840-1865 Joycelyn Moody 8. Racial ideologies in theory and practice: political and cultural nationalism, 1865-1910 Warren Carson 9. The 'fictions' of race Keith Byerman and Hanna Wallinger 10. 'We wear the mask': the making of a poet Keith Leonard 11. Toward a modernist poetics Mark Sanders Part II. African American Literature Since the Twentieth Century: 12. Foundations of African American modernism, 1910-1950 Craig Werner and Sandra Shannon 13. The New Negro Movement and the politics of art Emily Bernard 14. African American literature and the Great Depression Darryl Dickson-Carr 15. Weaving jagged words: the Black Left, 1930s-1940s Nicole Walingora-Davis 16. Writing the American story, 1945-1952 John Lowe 17. Geographies of the modern: writing beyond borders and boundaries Sabine Broeck 18. African American literature by writers of Caribbean descent Daryl Cumber Dance 19. Reform and revolution, 1965-1976: the Black aesthetic at work James Smethurst and Howard Ramsby 20. History as fact and fiction Trudier Harris 21. Redefining the art of poetry Opal Moore 22. Cultural resistance and avant-garde aesthetics: African American poetry from 1970 to the present Tony Bolden 23. New frontiers, cross-currents and convergencies: emerging cultural paradigms Madhu Dubey and Elizabeth Goldberg Part III. African American Literature as Academic and Cultural Capital: 24. Children's and young adult literatures Giselle L. Anatol 25. From writer to reader: Black popular fiction Candice Love Jackson 26. Cultural capital and the presence of Africa: Lorraine Hansberry, August Wilson and the power of Black theatre Harry Elam 27. African American literature: foundational scholarship, criticism and theory Lawrence P. Jackson 28. African American literatures and new world cultures Kenneth Warren Bibliography Suggested further reading. "The first major twenty-first century history of four hundred years of black writing, The Cambridge History of African American Literature presents a comprehensive overview of the literary traditions, oral and print, of African-descended peoples in the United States. Expert contributors, drawn from the United States and beyond, emphasise the dual nature of each text discussed as a work of art created by an individual and as a response to unfolding events in American cultural, political, and social history"--Provided by publisher cover......Page 1 0......Page 2 Intro......Page 14 1......Page 34 2......Page 54 3......Page 67 4......Page 81 5......Page 106 6......Page 131 7......Page 149 8......Page 169 9......Page 192 10......Page 221 11......Page 235 12......Page 254 13......Page 283 14......Page 303 15......Page 326 16......Page 356 17......Page 371 18......Page 392 19......Page 420 20......Page 466 21......Page 512 22......Page 547 23......Page 581 24......Page 634 25......Page 670 26......Page 695 27......Page 718 28......Page 745 29......Page 761 This volume presents a comprehensive overview of the literary traditions of African-descended peoples in the USA. Both a work of reference and a compelling narrative, it will remain essential reading for scholars and students in years to come