African American Literary
Criticism, 1773 to 2000
edited by
HAZEL ARNETT ERVIN
Twayne Publishers
New York
Contents
•
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
xxiii
xxv
1
READINGS ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
AND PHILOSOPHICAL CONTEXTS
1773-1894: NURTURE VS. NATURE
Phillis Wheatley
O N IMAGINATION (1773)
23
To M^CENAS (1773)
25
Ignatius Sancho
LETTER LVII (1778). IN LETTERS OF THE
LATE IGNATIUS SANCHO (1782)
27
Charlotte Forten Grimke
JOURNAL OF CHARLOTTE FORTEN (JULY 28, 1854)
29
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
FANCY ETCHINGS (APRIL 24, 1873)
30
Charles ~W. Chesnutt
SECOND JOURNAL (MAY 29, 1880)
32
1895-1954: ART OR PROPAGANDA?
Victoria Earle Matthews
THE VALUE OF RACE LITERATURE: AN ADDRESS (1895)
37
W. E. B. DuBois
CRITERIA OF NEGRO ART (1926)
39
VII
viii
•
CONTENTS
Langston Hughes
THE NEGRO ARTIST AND THE RACIAL MOUNTAIN (1926)
44
Alain Locke
ART OR PROPAGANDA? (1928)
49
Sterling A. Brown
FROM "OUR LITERARY AUDIENCE" (1930)
51
NEGRO CHARACTERS AS SEEN BY WHITE AUTHORS (1933)
55
Richard Wright
BLUEPRINT FOR NEGRO WRITING (1937)
82
James Baldwin
FROM "EVERYBODY'S PROTEST NOVEL" (1949)
91
Ann Petry
THE NOVEL AS SOCIAL CRITICISM (1950)
94
James Baldwin
FROM "MANY THOUSAND GONE" (1951)
99
1955-1975: CULTURAL AUTONOMY AND UNDERSTANDING
THE ART OF BLACK POETRY, DRAMA, FICTION, AND CRITICISM
Ralph Ellison
FROM "THE ART OF FICTION: AN INTERVIEW" (1955)
105
James Baldwin
THE CREATIVE PROCESS (1962)
111
Max Roach
JAZZ (1962)
113
Ossie Davis
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LORRAINE HANSBERRY (1965)
117
Larry Neal
THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT (1968)
122
Carolyn F. Gerald
THE BLACK WRITER AND HIS ROLE (1969)
129
Lloyd W. Brown
THE EXPATRIATE CONSCIOUSNESS IN
BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE (1972)
135
Stephen E. Henderson
FROM "THE FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN." IN
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW BLACK POETRY: BLACK SPEECH
AND BLACK MUSIC AS POETIC REFERENCES (1973)
141
CONTENTS
•
ix
1976-2000: AESTHETIC VALUES, RECONSTRUCTIONS OF
BLACKNESS A N D BOUNDARIES, A N D POSTMODERNISM
Alice Walker
SAVING THE LIFE THAT IS YOUR O W N :
THE IMPORTANCE OF MODELS IN THE ARTIST'S LIFE (1976)
155
Barbara Smith
TOWARD A BLACK FEMINIST CRITICISM (1977)
162
Ralph Ellison
THE LITTLE M A N AT CHEHAW STATION:
THE AMERICAN ARTIST AND H I S AUDIENCE (1977)
172
Sherley A. Williams
THE BLUES ROOTS OF CONTEMPORARY
AFRO-AMERICAN POETRY (1979)
179
Houston A. Baker Jr.
FROM "TOWARD A CRITICAL PROSPECT FOR THE FUTURE."
IN THE JOURNEY BACK: ISSUES IN BLACK
LITERATURE AND CRITICISM (1980)
192
Toni Morrison
FROM "ROOTEDNESS: T H E ANCESTOR AS FOUNDATION" (1984)
198
Toni Cade Bambara
SALVATION IS THE ISSUE (1984)
203
James A. Snead
REPETITION AS A FIGURE OF BLACK CULTURE (1984)
206
William L. Andrews
THE FIRST CENTURY OF AFRO-AMERICAN AUTOBIOGRAPHY:
THEORY AND EXPLICATION (1984)
223
Joseph Henry
A MELUS INTERVIEW: ISHMAEL REED (1984)
235
Shauneille Perry Ryder
WILL THE REAL BLACK THEATER PLEASE STAND U P ? (1984)
242
Joanne V Gabbin
THE POETRY OF STERLING A. BROWN:
A STUDY IN FORM AND MEANING (1985)
247
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
SIGNIFYIN(G): DEFINITIONS [AND THEORY] (1988)
259
H o m i K. Bhabha
CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES (1988)
268
x •
CONTENTS
Joy Harjo
A N INTERVIEW WITH JUNE JORDAN (1988)
273
Jerry W Ward Jr.
FROM "ALVIN AUBERT: THE LEVEE, THE BLUES,
THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI" (1989)
278
Eleanor W Traylor
A BLUES VIEW OF LIFE (LITERATURE AND
THE BLUES VISION) (1989)
285
Richard J. Powell
THE BLUES AESTHETIC: BLACK CULTURE
AND MODERNISM (1989)
289
J o h n Edgar Wideman
PREFACE. I N BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF
CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN AMERICAN FICTION (1990)
303
Terry McMillan
FROM "INTRODUCTION." I N BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF
CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN
FICTION (1990)
309
Gale Jackson
THE WAY W E D O : A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
OF THE AFRICAN ROOTS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN
PERFORMANCE (1991)
312
Charles I. Nero
TOWARD A BLACK GAY AESTHETIC: SIGNIFYING IN
CONTEMPORARY BLACK GAY LITERATURE (1991)
321
Karla F. C. Holloway
A FIGURATIVE THEORY: A CRITICAL CONSIDERATION
OF VOICE, GENDER AND CULTURE (1992)
328
Tommy L. Lott
A NO-THEORY THEORY OF CONTEMPORARY
BLACK CINEMA (1992)
339
bell hooks
INTRODUCTION: REVOLUTIONARY ATTITUDES.
IN BLACK LOOKS: RACE AND REPRESENTATION (1992)
349
Jerry W Ward Jr.
FOREWORD. I N BLACK SOUTHERN VOICES:
AN ANTHOLOGY (1992)
353
Thulani Davis
FROM "WALTER MOSLEY ( A N INTERVIEW)" (1993)
359
CONTENTS • xi
Sandra G. Shannon
BLUES, HISTORY AND DRAMATURGY: A N INTERVIEW
WITH AUGUST WILSON (1994)
364
Dolan H u b b a r d
VOICES AND VISIONS. I N THE SERMON AND THE
AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY IMAGINATION (1994)
382
Ropo Sekoni
FEATURES OF YORUBA TRICKSTER TALE AESTHETICS (1994)
385
Geneva Smitherman
FROM " W O R D FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY."
IN BLACK TALK: WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE
HOOD TO THE AMEN CORNER (1994)
400
M a d h u Dubey
INTRODUCTION: BLACK FEMINIST CRITICISM. I N BLACK WOMEN
NOVELISTS AND THE NATIONALIST AESTHETIC (1994)
412
Farah Jasmine Griffin
INTRODUCTION. I N "WHO SET YOU FLOWIN'?"
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN
MIGRATION NARRATIVE (1995)
423
Tuzyline Jita Allan
INTRODUCTION: DECODING WOMANIST GRAMMAR
OF DIFFERENCE. I N WOMANIST AND FEMINIST
AESTHETICS,
A COMPARATIVE REVIEW (1995)
433
M t u m e ya Salaam
THE AESTHETICS OF RAP (1995)
445
E. Ethelbert Miller
A N INTERVIEW WITH CORNELIUS EADY (1995)
453
Trudier Harris
MISS-TRAINED OR UNTRAINED? JACKLEG CRITICS AND
AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE (OR, SOME OF
M Y ADVENTURES IN ACADEMIA) (1995)
461
Joan Fry
A N INTERVIEW WITH OCTAVIA BUTLER (1997)
471
Duane Frank
"SOUL FOOD" DIRECTOR ISN'T HOLDING H I S BREATH.
IN MILWAUKEE SENTINELJOURNAL
(1997)
479
Claudia Tate
INTRODUCTION: RACE AND PSYCHOANALYSIS. I N PSYCHOANALYSIS
AND BLACK NOVELS, DESIRE AND PROTOCOLS OF RACE (1998)
481
xii •
CONTENTS
Alexs Pate
MAKING HOME IN THE N E W MILLENNIUM: REFLECTIONS (1999) 487
READINGS ARRANGED UNDER CRITICAL APPROACHES
BLACK POETICS
Ropo Sekoni
FEATURES OF YORUBA TRICKSTER TALE AESTHETICS (1994)
385
Gale Jackson
THE WAY W E D O : A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF THE
AFRICAN ROOTS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PERFORMANCE (1991)
312
Toni Morrison
FROM "ROOTEDNESS: T H E ANCESTOR AS FOUNDATION" (1984)
198
Dolan Hubbard
VOICES AND VISIONS. I N THE SERMON AND THE
AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY IMAGINATION (1994)
382
Eleanor W Traylor
A BLUES VIEW OF LIFE (LITERATURE AND
THE BLUES VISION) (1989)
285
Joanne V Gabbin
THE POETRY OF STERLING A. BROWN:
A STUDY IN FORM AND MEANING (1985)
247
Joseph Henry
A MELUS INTERVIEW: ISHMAEL REED (1984)
235
Joy Harjo
A N INTERVIEW WITH JUNE JORDAN (1988)
273
Sherley A. Williams
THE BLUES ROOTS OF CONTEMPORARY
AFRO-AMERICAN POETRY (1979)
179
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
SIGNIFYIN(G): DEFINITIONS [AND THEORY] (1988)
259
Jerry W Ward Jr.
FROM "ALVIN AUBERT: THE LEVEE, THE BLUES,
THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI" (1989)
278
Jerry W Ward Jr.
FOREWORD. I N BLACK SOUTHERN VOICES:
AN ANTHOLOGY (1992)
353
CONTENTS •
xiii
Farah Jasmine Griffin
INTRODUCTION. IN "WHO SET YOU FLOWIN'?"
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MIGRATION NARRATIVE
(1995)
423
Max Roach
JAZZ (1962)
113
Houston A. Baker Jr.
FROM "TOWARD A CRITICAL PROSPECT FOR THE FUTURE."
IN THE JOURNEY BACK: ISSUES IN BLACK LITERATURE
AND CRITICISM
(1980)
192
CULTURE-BASED STUDIES
Langston Hughes
THE NEGRO ARTIST AND THE RACIAL MOUNTAIN
(1926)
44
Richard Wright
BLUEPRINT FOR NEGRO WRITING
(1937)
82
Ralph Ellison
THE LITTLE MAN AT CHEHAW STATION:
THE AMERICAN ARTIST AND HIS AUDIENCE
(1977)
172
James Baldwin
FROM "EVERYBODY'S PROTEST NOVEL"
FROM "MANY THOUSAND GONE"
(1949)
91
(1951)
99
Larry Neal
THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT
(1968)
122
Stephen E. Henderson
FROM "THE FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN."
IN UNDERSTANDING THE NEW BLACK POETRY: BLACK
SPEECH AND BLACK MUSIC AS POETIC REFERENCES (1973)
Joseph Henry
A MELUS INTERVIEW:
ISHMAEL REED
(1984)
141
235
Farah Jasmine Griffin
INTRODUCTION. IN "WHO SET YOU FLOWIN'?"
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MIGRATION NARRATIVE
(1995)
423
James A. Snead
REPETITION AS A FIGURE OF BLACK CULTURE
(1984)
206
Richard J. Powell
THE BLUES AESTHETIC: BLACK CULTURE
AND MODERNISM (1989)
289
xiv •
CONTENTS
Houston A. Baker Jr.
FROM "TOWARD A CRITICAL PROSPECT FOR THE FUTURE."
IN THE JOURNEY BACK: ISSUES IN BLACK
LITERATURE AND CRITICISM (1980)
192
bell hooks
INTRODUCTION: REVOLUTIONARY ATTITUDES.
IN BLACK LOOKS: RACE AND REPRESENTATION (1992)
349
Tommy L. Lott
A NO-THEORY THEORY OF CONTEMPORARY
BLACK CINEMA (1992)
339
H o m i K. Bhabha
CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES (1988)
268
Max Roach
JAZZ(1962)
113
M t u m e ya Salaam
THE AESTHETICS OF RAP (1995)
445
Duane Frank
"SOUL FOOD" DIRECTOR ISN'T HOLDING H I S BREATH.
IN MILWAUKEE SENTINELJOURNAL
(1997)
479
Lloyd W Brown
THE EXPATRIATE CONSCIOUSNESS IN
BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE (1972)
135
INTERTEXTUAL HISTORIOGRAPHY
Karla F. C. Holloway
A FIGURATIVE THEORY: A CRITICAL CONSIDERATION OF
VOICE, GENDER AND CULTURE (1992)
328
James A. Snead
REPETITION AS A FIGURE OF BLACK CULTURE (1984)
206
Geneva Smitherman
FROM " W O R D FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY."
IN BLACK TALK: WORDS AND PHRASES FROM
THE HOOD TO THE AMEN CORNER (1994)
400
Joseph Henry
A MELUS INTERVIEW: ISHMAEL REED (1984)
235
William L. Andrews
THE FIRST CENTURY OF AFRO-AMERICAN AUTOBIOGRAPHY:
THEORY AND EXPLICATION (1984)
223
CONTENTS
• xv
Madhu Dubey
INTRODUCTION: BLACK FEMINIST CRITICISM. I N BLACK WOMEN
NOVELISTS AND THE NATIONALIST AESTHETIC (1994)
412
GENDER-BASED STUDIES
Barbara Smith
TOWARD A BLACK FEMINIST CRITICISM (1977)
162
Tuzyline Jita Allan
INTRODUCTION: DECODING WOMANIST GRAMMAR OF
DIFFERENCE. I N WOMANIST AND FEMINIST
AESTHETICS,
A COMPARATIVE REVIEW (1995)
433
Toni Cade Bambara
SALVATION IS THE ISSUE (1984)
203
Karla F. C. Holloway
A FIGURATIVE THEORY: A CRITICAL CONSIDERATION
OF VOICE, GENDER AND CULTURE (1992)
328
Madhu Dubey
INTRODUCTION: BLACK FEMINIST CRITICISM. I N BLACK WOMEN
NOVELISTS AND THE NATIONALIST A ESTHETIC (1994)
412
Charles I. Nero
TOWARD A BLACK GAY AESTHETIC: SIGNIFYING IN
CONTEMPORARY BLACK GAY LITERATURE (1991)
321
LINGUISTICS
Stephen E. Henderson
FROM "THE FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN." I N
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW BLACK POETRY: BLACK SPEECH
AND BLACK MUSIC AS POETIC REFERENCES (1973)
141
Houston A. Baker Jr.
FROM "TOWARD A CRITICAL PROSPECT FOR THE FUTURE."
I N THE JOURNEY BACK: ISSUES IN BLACK
LITERATURE AND CRITICISM (1980)
192
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
SIGNIFYIN(G): DEFINITIONS [AND THEORY] (1988)
259
James A. Snead
REPETITION AS A FIGURE OF BLACK CULTURE (1984)
206
xvi •
CONTENTS
Geneva Smitherman
FROM " W O R D FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY."
I N BLACK TALK: WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE
HOOD TO THE AMEN CORNER (1994)
400
William L. Andrews
THE FIRST CENTURY OF AFRO-AMERICAN AUTOBIOGRAPHY:
THEORY AND EXPLICATION (1984)
223
SEMIOTICS A N D STRUCTURALISM
Stephen E. Henderson
FROM "THE FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN." I N
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW BLACK POETRY: BLACK SPEECH
AND BLACK MUSIC AS POETIC REFERENCES (1973)
141
Houston A. Baker Jr.
FROM "TOWARD A CRITICAL PROSPECT FOR THE FUTURE."
IN THE JOURNEY BACK: ISSUES IN BLACK LITERATURE
AND CRITICISM (1980)
192
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
SIGNIFYIN(G): DEFINITIONS [AND THEORY] (1988)
259
Karla F. C. Holloway
A FIGURATIVE THEORY: A CRITICAL CONSIDERATION OF
VOICE, GENDER AND CULTURE (1992)
328
Ralph Ellison
FROM "THE ART OF FICTION: A N INTERVIEW" (1955)
105
Joanne V Gabbin
THE POETRY OF STERLING A. BROWN:
A STUDY IN FORM AND MEANING (1985)
247
MYTHOLOGY/ARCHETYPAL
Gale Jackson
THE WAY W E D O : A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF THE
AFRICAN ROOTS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PERFORMANCE (1991)
312
Karla F. C. Holloway
A FIGURATIVE THEORY: A CRITICAL CONSIDERATION OF
VOICE, GENDER AND CULTURE (1992)
328
Ralph Ellison
FROM "THE ART OF FICTION: A N INTERVIEW" (1955)
105
CONTENTS
•
xvii
PSYCHOANALYTIC
Claudia Tate
-
INTRODUCTION: RACE AND PSYCHOANALYSIS. I N
PSYCHOANALYSIS AND BLACK NOVELS, DESIRE AND
PROTOCOLS OF RACE (1998)
RHETORIC A N D
481
READER-RESPONSE
Ignatius Sancho
LETTER LVII (1778). IN
LETTERS OF THE
LATE IGNATIUS SANCHO
(1782)
27
Charlotte Forten Grimke
JOURNAL OF CHARLOTTE FORTEN (JULY 28, 1854)
29
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
FANCY ETCHINGS (APRIL 24, 1873)
30
Charles W Chesnutt
SECOND JOURNAL (MAY 29, 1880)
32
Victoria Earle Matthews
THE VALUE OF RACE LITERATURE: AN ADDRESS
(1895)
37
W E. B. DuBois
CRITERIA OF NEGRO ART
(1926)
39
Alain Locke
ART OR PROPAGANDA? (1928)
49
Langston Hughes
THE NEGRO ARTIST AND THE RACIAL MOUNTAIN
(1926)
44
Richard Wright
BLUEPRINT FOR NEGRO WRITING
(1937)
82
Sterling A. Brown
NEGRO CHARACTERS AS SEEN BY WHITE AUTHORS
FROM "OUR LITERARY AUDIENCE"
(1933)
(1930)
55
51
Ralph Ellison
'
THE LITTLE MAN AT CHEHAW STATION:
THE AMERICAN ARTIST AND HIS AUDIENCE
(1977)
172
Ossie Davis
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LORRAINE HANSBERRY
(1965)
117
Ann Petry
THE NOVEL AS SOCIAL CRITICISM
(1950)
94
xviii • CONTENTS
James Baldwin
FROM "MANY THOUSAND G O N E " (1951)
THE CREATIVE PROCESS (1962)
FROM "EVERYBODY'S PROTEST NOVEL" (1949)
99
111
91
Alice Walker
SAVING THE LIFE THAT IS YOUR O W N :
THE IMPORTANCE OF MODELS IN THE ARTIST'S LIFE (1976)
155
Stephen E. Henderson
FROM "THE FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN." I N
UNDERSTANDING
THE NEW BLACK POETRY: BLACK
SPEECH AND BLACK MUSIC AS POETIC REFERENCES (1973)
141
Jerry W Ward Jr.
FOREWORD. I N BLACK SOUTHERN VOICES:
AN ANTHOLOGY (1992)
353
Carolyn F. Gerald
THE BLACK WRITER AND H I S ROLE (1969)
129
Lloyd W Brown
THE EXPATRIATE CONSCIOUSNESS IN
BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE (1972)
135
Houston A. Baker Jr.
FROM "TOWARD A CRITICAL PROSPECT FOR THE FUTURE."
I N THE JOURNEY BACK: ISSUES IN BLACK
LITERATURE AND CRITICISM (1980)
192
Karla F. C. Holloway
A FIGURATIVE THEORY: A CRITICAL CONSIDERATION OF
VOICE, GENDER AND CULTURE (1992)
328
Madhu Dubey
INTRODUCTION: BLACK FEMINIST CRITICISM. I N BLACK WOMEN
NOVELISTS AND THE NATIONALIST A ESTHETIC (1994)
419
E. Ethelbert Miller
A N INTERVIEW WITH CORNEOUS EADY (1995)
453
Trudier Harris
MISS-TRAINED OR UNTRAINED? JACKLEG CRITICS AND
AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE (OR, SOME OF M Y
ADVENTURES IN ACADEMIA) (1995)
461
Shauneille Perry Ryder
WILL THE REAL BLACK THEATER PLEASE STAND U P ? (1984)
242
CONTENTS • xix
Alexs Pate
MAKING HOME IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM: REFLECTIONS (1999) 487
POSTCOLONIALISM
Carolyn F. Gerald
THE BLACK WRITER AND HIS ROLE (1969)
129
Homi K. Bhabha
CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES (1988)
268
GENRES
SLAVE NARRATIVE/AUTOBIOGRAPHY
William L. Andrews
THE FIRST CENTURY OF AFRO-AMERICAN AUTOBIOGRAPHY:
THEORY AND EXPLICATION (1984)
223
NOVEL
James Baldwin
FROM "MANY THOUSAND GONE"
(1951)
FROM "EVERYBODY'S PROTEST NOVEL"
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
99
(1949)
91
(1962)
111
Ann Petry
THE NOVEL AS SOCIAL CRITICISM (1950)
94
Ralph Ellison
FROM "THE ART OF FICTION: AN INTERVIEW"
(1955)
105
Carolyn F. Gerald
THE BLACK WRITER AND HIS ROLE (1969)
129
Lloyd W Brown
THE EXPATRIATE CONSCIOUSNESS IN
BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE (1972)
135
Toni Morrison
FROM "ROOTEDNESS: THE ANCESTOR AS FOUNDATION"
(1984) 198
Farah Jasmine Griffin
INTRODUCTION. IN "WHO SET YOU FLOWIN'?"
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MIGRATION NARRATIVE
(1995)
423
Jerry W Ward Jr.
FOREWORD. IN BLACK SOUTHERN VOICES:
AN ANTHOLOGY (1992)
353
xx
•
CONTENTS
John Edgar Wideman
PREFACE. I N BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
FICTION (1990)
303
Terry McMillan
FROM "INTRODUCTION." I N BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF
CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN
FICTION (1990)
3 09
SHORT STORY
Carolyn F. Gerald
THE BLACK WRITER AND HIS ROLE (1969)
129
Toni Cade Bambara
SALVATION IS THE ISSUE (1984)
203
John Edgar Wideman
PREFACE. I N BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF
CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN
FICTION (1990)
303
Terry McMillan
FROM "INTRODUCTION." I N BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OP
CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN
FICTION (1990)
309
Alexs Pate
MAKING HOME IN THE N E W MILLENNIUM: REFLECTIONS (1999) 487
POETRY
Phillis Wheatley
O N IMAGINATION (1773)
23
Carolyn F. Gerald
THE BLACK WRITER AND HIS ROLE (1969)
129
Larry Neal
THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT (1968)
122
Stephen E. Henderson
FROM "THE FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN."
IN UNDERSTANDING
THE NEW BLACK POETRY: BLACK SPEECH
AND BLACK MUSIC AS POETIC REFERENCES (1973)
141
Sherley A. Williams
THE BLUES ROOTS OF CONTEMPORARY
AFRO-AMERICAN POETRY (1979)
179
Joanne V Gabbin
THE POETRY OF STERLING A. BROWN: A STUDY IN
FORM AND MEANING (1985)
247
CONTENTS
• xxi
Joy Harjo
A N INTERVIEW WITH JUNE JORDAN (1988)
273
Jerry W Ward Jr.
FROM "ALVIN AUBERT: T H E LEVEE, THE BLUES,
THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI" (1989)
278
E. Ethelbert Miller
A N INTERVIEW WITH CORNELIUS EADY (1995)
453
DRAMA
Ossie Davis
T H E SIGNIFICANCE OF LORRAINE HANSBERRY (1965)
117
Larry Neal
T H E BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT (1968)
122
Shauneille Perry Ryder
WILL THE REAL BLACK THEATER PLEASE STAND U P ? (1984)
242
Sandra G. Shannon
BLUES, HISTORY AND DRAMATURGY:
A N INTERVIEW WITH AUGUST WILSON (1994)
364
CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE
Carolyn F. Gerald
THE BLACK WRITER AND HIS ROLE (1969)
129
John Edgar Wideman
PREFACE. I N BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF
CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN
FICTION (1990)
303
Terry McMillan
FROM "INTRODUCTION." I N BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF
CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN
FICTION (1990)
309
E. Ethelbert Miller
A N INTERVIEW WITH CORNELIUS EADY (1995)
453
Charles I.Nero
TOWARD A BLACK GAY AESTHETIC: SIGNIFYING IN
CONTEMPORARY BLACK GAY LITERATURE (1991)
321
Alexs Pate
MAKING HOME IN THE N E W MILLENNIUM:
REFLECTIONS (1999)
487
xxii •
CONTENTS
FILM
Carolyn F. Gerald
THE BLACK WRITER AND HIS ROLE (1969)
129
bell hooks
INTRODUCTION: REVOLUTIONARY ATTITUDES.
IN BLACK LOOKS: RACE AND REPRESENTATION
(1992)
349
Tommy L. Lott
A NO-THEORY THEORY OF CONTEMPORARY
BLACK CINEMA (1992)
339
Duane Frank
"SOUL FOOD" DIRECTOR ISN'T HOLDING HIS BREATH.
IN MILWAUKEE SENTINEL JOURNAL (1997)
479
DETECTIVE NOVEL
Thulani Davis
FROM "WALTER MOSLEY (AN INTERVIEW)"
(1993)
359
SCIENCE FICTION
Joan Fry
AN INTERVIEW WITH OCTAVIA BUTLER (1997)
471
JAZZ, RAP, AND HIP-HOP
Max Roach
JAZZ (1962)
113
Mtume ya Salaam
THE AESTHETICS OF RAP (1995)
445
Geneva Smitherman
FROM "WORD FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY."
IN BLACK TALK: WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE HOOD
TO THE AMEN CORNER (1994)
African American Literary Criticism in Context
Index
400
493
531