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The Ethics of Swagger The Ethics of Swagger The Ethics of Swagger Prizewinning African American Novels, 1977–1993 Michael DeRell Hill The Ohio State University Press Columbus Copyright © 2013 by The Ohio State University. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hill, Michael D., 1971– Ethics of swagger : prizewinning African American novels, 1977–1993 / Michael DeRell Hill. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8142-1214-1 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-8142-9315-7 (cd) 1. American fiction—African American authors—History and criticism. 2. American fiction— 20th century—History and criticism. 3. Bradley, David, 1950—Criticism and interpretation. 4. Gaines, Ernest J., 1933—Criticism and interpretation. 5. Johnson, Charles (Charles Richard), 1948—Criticism and interpretation. 6. Morrison, Toni—Criticism and interpretation. 7. Nay- lor, Gloria—Criticism and interpretation. 8. Walker, Alice, 1944—Criticism and interpretation. 9. Wideman, John Edgar—Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. PS374.N4H55 2013 813'.5409896073—dc23 2012041797 Cover design by Laurence J. Nozik Text design by Juliet Williams Type set in Adobe Bembo and Wilke Printed by Thomson-Shore, Inc. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American Na- tional Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48-1992. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ccontentscontents Acknowledgments vii Introduction A New Attitude 1 Part I: White Expectations Chapter 1 Beloved and Black Prizewinning 25 Chapter 2 Authorized Mentors: To Africa and Back in The Color Purple and Middle Passage 47 Chapter 3 A Lesson Before Dying as Style Guide 70 Part II: Black Traditions Chapter 4 One to Write On: Communion Without Consensus in The Women of Brewster Place and Jazz 93 Chapter 5 Hunting Inheritance in Song of Solomon and The Chaneysville Incident 120 Chapter 6 Measured Achievement: Sent For You Yesterday’s and Philadelphia Fire’s Failed Artists 144 Conclusion Swagger’s Afterlife 165 Bibliography 173 Index 185 aacknowledgmentsacknowledgments This book proves that insight demands both conspicuous and invisible collaborations. While the list will never be complete, I would like to acknowledge some folks who kept the faith. James Keil arrested my attention when I was an undergraduate. By demanding discipline and encouraging dreams, he clarified my academic calling and convinced me to pursue it. I will forever be grateful that he took the time to care. While at Howard University, I also was blessed to meet E. Ethelbert Miller. His gentle prodding launched me into archi- val research, and our conversations reminded me to include the human dimension as I analyzed literature. Like Frederick Douglass, poet Miller is defined by the lives sprouting from his own. I count mine as one among many. By hiring me as his research assistant, R. Baxter Miller showed a kindness that has never waned. He introduced me to African American writing as a praisesong of survival and extolled the CLA, MELUS, and other landmark institutions in the study of black literature. Because of his tutelage, I can see the textures that braid my efforts into a venerated his- tory. His gift of perspective grows in value daily. Elaine Scarry enlivened my graduate education by untying the cor- dons of intellectual curiosity. While teaching me that the mind should roam, she also insisted that I make my wending coherent. Her example ever spurs me toward a more epic outlook. With graceful erudition, Law- rence Buell modeled analytical rigor. He empathized with my scholarly vii viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS exhaustion, yet he motivated me to look anew and to do so scrupulously. Through his lived testimony, I have learned that a potent work ethic is the best complement to talent. From the moment that I met him, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., bolstered my confidence. He empowered me to trust my instincts and persuaded me to express as much of the truth as I could discern. His admonitions define my professional practice; I appreciate the light touch of his guidance. This project began in classes that I taught at Wake Forest University. For the chance to enhance my thinking about African American novels, I owe a debt to the faculty, staff, and students of that fine institution. The University of Iowa has also supported me wondrously. From the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, I have received summer research money, a semester leave, travel stipends, and a course reduction. The English Department and the Program in African American Studies have gener- ously provided funds for my trips to literary archives, a research assistant, and the purchase of critical texts. If this administrative aid proved valu- able, then the munificence of my colleagues touched me equally. Iowa’s neighboring reflects a community defined by sincere concern. While this concern is evident at work, it permeates all of my life. Being amid such conviviality made it easier to finish this book. Several people read early drafts of this project, and I am especially grateful for the feedback of Dolan Hubbard, John Jackson, Herman Beavers, Lawrence Jackson, Adam Bradley, Darryl Dickson-Carr, and Lawrence Buell. Kathleen Diffley made copious notes that helped refine my thinking, and Garrett Stewart and Ed Folsom advanced my grasp of central concepts. Through conversations with Matt Brown, Loren Glass, and Harry Stecopoulos, I realized how broader developments in Reagan-era America resonated with prizewinning black novelists. The acuity of Deborah Whaley, Richard Turner, Gene Jarrett, Imani Perry, Tim Havens, Marc Connor, Evie Shockley, Fredrick Woodard, Venise Berry, and Sydné Mahone added depth to my interpretations of black cultural production. Horace Porter vetted no fewer than three full drafts of this manu- script, and his expert guidance took the mystery out of the publication process. When I think of his selfless mentoring, I can only hope to shine for others the way that he lit the path for me. He epitomizes the fact that we do indeed walk on the shoulders of our elders. In a world rap- idly retreating from hospitality, he shows the fruits that can be harvested through graciousness. I cannot imagine where I would be without his steadying influence. At The Ohio State University Press, I received bril- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix liant feedback from two anonymous readers and boundless enthusiasm from Sandy Crooms. I do not take these efforts for granted; thank you all. The Bethel AME Church family buoyed me with their prayers, words, and deeds. To the Hill and Moore clans, I say that the road and the sky that you have covered profoundly attest your love. My daughter Caitlyn lived with this book from the moment that she began kindergarten to her entry into fourth grade. Although she remains suspicious of nonfic- tion, I hope that she finds this project a worthy reason to have had to share her Daddy. My son Michael Carl was mostly oblivious to my toil, yet he appreciates his expanded ability to monopolize my iPad. To my wife Lena, I dedicate this book to you. You sift my ideas, returning them to me intact, yet improved. At the center of maelstroms, your resolve frees me to forge ahead. You remain my latest and my greatest inspiration. introductionintroductioni A New Attitude Upon being asked whether she experienced “a sense of triumph” when she received the Nobel Prize, Toni Morrison replied, “I felt the way I used to feel at commencements where I’d get an honorary degree: that it was very important for young black people to see a black person do that, that there were probably young people . who weren’t quite sure that they could do it. But seeing me up there might encourage them . That made me happy. It gave me license to strut” (Dreifus 99). In many ways, her sentiments were not new. She echoed a chorus of blacks who viewed their respective firsts as potential spurs to future generations.1 If her com- mitment to youth empowerment put her on familiar terrain, then her mention of strutting complicated matters. Strutting is “to walk with an affected air of dignity” or “to . swagger” (“Strut,” def. 7a, 5a). Although these definitions imply garishness, Morrison’s remarks revealed a blend of responsibility, achievement, and style that fueled late twentieth-century black artistic freedom. Her attitude and the era that it captured mark a crucial development in African American literature. Black writing has long been a tool for fighting racial injustice, and after the Black Arts Movement, this obligation remained a high priority. 1. The cultural first has a long tradition in African American experience. For analyses and examples, see Joan Potter’s African American Firsts: Famous Little-Known and Unsung Triumphs of Blacks in America (2009) and Jessica Carney Smith’s Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneer- ing Historical Events (2002). 1 2 INTRODUCTION While most authors agreed that portraying black life required aesthetic and ethical attentiveness, the 1970s debates about such attentiveness revealed a hunger for more autonomy. This hunger reflected a belief that despite America’s persistent devaluation of black “moral person- ality,” communities still existed where ethical “codes and sanctions of conduct” were being negotiated (Wilson xix, viii). Although these codes did not eschew Eurocentric influences, they made black cultural values their golden mean.2 This evolution heralded a declaration of indepen- dence. By subordinating white literary expectations to their aims, black writers not only questioned prevailing aesthetics but also the morali- ties that informed them. This questioning unsettled traditional humanis- tic assumptions, yet instead of repudiating humanism, authors sought to redeem its virtues while shedding its vices.3 Among the former, they trea- sured “justice, brotherhood, and love” (R. Jackson 62). One thing they rued was humanism’s misreading of flair.4 John Edgar Wideman observes that regardless of the activities, mak- ing “a unique statement” is “an Afro-American cultural inheritance.” He continues, “‘Dr.
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