African American Writers and Classical Tradition
A study of the relationship between African American writing and the classical tradition, showing how Black literature grew through, not apart from, inherited literary forms.
Work Information
The classical tradition is not outside Black literature.
Cook and Tatum argue through specific writers and texts that African American literature developed in dialogue with canonical Western traditions. The result is a scholarly but accessible study.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Univ of Chicago Pr
- Published
- 2010-04-01
- Pages
- 454 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 15.24 x 3.05 x 22.86 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780226789965
- ISBN-10
- 0226789969
- Price
- 21458 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Politics & Social Sciences/Social Sciences/Specific Demographics/Ethnic Studies
Constraints on freedom, education, and individual dignity have always been fundamental in determining who is able to write, when, and where. Considering the singular experience of the African American writer, William W. Cook and James Tatum here argue that African American literature did not develop apart from canonical Western literary traditions but instead grew out of those literatures, even as it adapted and transformed the cultural traditions and religions of Africa and the African diaspora along the way.Tracing the interaction between African American writers and the literatures of ancient Greece and Rome, from the time of slavery and its aftermath to the civil rights era and on into the present, the authors offer a sustained and lively discussion of the life and work of Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, and Rita Dove, among other highly acclaimed poets, novelists, and scholars. Assembling this brilliant and diverse group of African American writers at a moment when our understanding of classical literature is ripe for change, the authors paint an unforgettable portrait of our own reception of &;classic&; writing, especially as it was inflected by American racial politics.
William W. Cook is professor emeritus of English and African and African American studies at Dartmouth. James Tatum is professor emeritus of classics at Dartmouth. They are both the authors of numerous previous volumes.
Related Literary Awards
- American Book Awards Edition 32 (2011) ・Winner・Winner