African American Literary Criticism, 1773 to 2000
edited by
HAZEL ARNETT ERVIN
Twayne Publishers New York Contents •
Preface xxiii Acknowledgments xxv Introduction 1 READINGS ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER AND PHILOSOPHICAL CONTEXTS
1773-1894: NURTURE VS. NATURE
Phillis Wheatley ON 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 AND BOUNDARIES, AND POSTMODERNISM
Alice Walker SAVING THE LIFE THAT IS YOUR OWN: THE IMPORTANCE OF MODELS IN THE ARTIST'S LIFE (1976) 155
Barbara Smith TOWARD A BLACK FEMINIST CRITICISM (1977) 162
Ralph Ellison THE LITTLE MAN AT CHEHAW STATION: THE AMERICAN ARTIST AND HIS 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: THE 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 UP? (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
Homi K. Bhabha CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES (1988) 268 x • CONTENTS
Joy Harjo AN 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 John Edgar Wideman PREFACE. IN BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN AMERICAN FICTION (1990) 303
Terry McMillan FROM "INTRODUCTION." IN BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN FICTION (1990) 309
Gale Jackson THE WAY WE DO: 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. IN BLACK SOUTHERN VOICES: AN ANTHOLOGY (1992) 353
Thulani Davis FROM "WALTER MOSLEY (AN INTERVIEW)" (1993) 359 CONTENTS • xi
Sandra G. Shannon BLUES, HISTORY AND DRAMATURGY: AN INTERVIEW WITH AUGUST WILSON (1994) 364
Dolan Hubbard VOICES AND VISIONS. IN THE SERMON AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY IMAGINATION (1994) 382
Ropo Sekoni FEATURES OF YORUBA TRICKSTER TALE AESTHETICS (1994) 385
Geneva Smitherman FROM "WORD FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY." IN BLACK TALK: WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE HOOD TO THE AMEN CORNER (1994) 400
Madhu Dubey INTRODUCTION: BLACK FEMINIST CRITICISM. IN BLACK WOMEN NOVELISTS AND THE NATIONALIST AESTHETIC (1994) 412
Farah Jasmine Griffin INTRODUCTION. IN "WHO SET YOU FLOWIN'?" THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MIGRATION NARRATIVE (1995) 423
Tuzyline Jita Allan INTRODUCTION: DECODING WOMANIST GRAMMAR OF DIFFERENCE. IN WOMANIST AND FEMINIST AESTHETICS, A COMPARATIVE REVIEW (1995) 433
Mtume ya Salaam THE AESTHETICS OF RAP (1995) 445 E. Ethelbert Miller AN INTERVIEW WITH CORNELIUS EADY (1995) 453
Trudier Harris MISS-TRAINED OR UNTRAINED? JACKLEG CRITICS AND AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE (OR, SOME OF MY ADVENTURES IN ACADEMIA) (1995) 461 Joan Fry AN INTERVIEW WITH OCTAVIA BUTLER (1997) 471
Duane Frank "SOUL FOOD" DIRECTOR ISN'T HOLDING HIS BREATH. IN MILWAUKEE SENTINELJOURNAL (1997) 479
Claudia Tate INTRODUCTION: RACE AND PSYCHOANALYSIS. IN PSYCHOANALYSIS AND BLACK NOVELS, DESIRE AND PROTOCOLS OF RACE (1998) 481 xii • CONTENTS
Alexs Pate MAKING HOME IN THE NEW 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 WE DO: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF THE AFRICAN ROOTS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PERFORMANCE (1991) 312
Toni Morrison FROM "ROOTEDNESS: THE ANCESTOR AS FOUNDATION" (1984) 198
Dolan Hubbard VOICES AND VISIONS. IN 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 AN 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. IN 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" (1949) 91
FROM "MANY THOUSAND GONE" (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) 141 Joseph Henry A MELUS INTERVIEW: ISHMAEL REED (1984) 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
Homi K. Bhabha CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES (1988) 268
Max Roach JAZZ(1962) 113
Mtume ya Salaam THE AESTHETICS OF RAP (1995) 445
Duane Frank "SOUL FOOD" DIRECTOR ISN'T HOLDING HIS 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 "WORD 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. IN 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. IN 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. IN 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." IN 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 James A. Snead REPETITION AS A FIGURE OF BLACK CULTURE (1984) 206 xvi • CONTENTS
Geneva Smitherman FROM "WORD FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY." IN 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 AND STRUCTURALISM 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
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: AN 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 WE DO: 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: AN INTERVIEW" (1955) 105 CONTENTS • xvii
PSYCHOANALYTIC Claudia Tate - INTRODUCTION: RACE AND PSYCHOANALYSIS. IN PSYCHOANALYSIS AND BLACK NOVELS, DESIRE AND PROTOCOLS OF RACE (1998) 481
RHETORIC AND 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 (1933) 55
FROM "OUR LITERARY AUDIENCE" (1930) 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 GONE" (1951) 99
THE CREATIVE PROCESS (1962) 111
FROM "EVERYBODY'S PROTEST NOVEL" (1949) 91
Alice Walker SAVING THE LIFE THAT IS YOUR OWN: THE IMPORTANCE OF MODELS IN THE ARTIST'S LIFE (1976) 155
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 Jerry W Ward Jr. FOREWORD. IN BLACK SOUTHERN VOICES: AN ANTHOLOGY (1992) 353 Carolyn F. Gerald THE BLACK WRITER AND HIS 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." IN 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. IN BLACK WOMEN NOVELISTS AND THE NATIONALIST A ESTHETIC (1994) 419
E. Ethelbert Miller AN INTERVIEW WITH CORNEOUS EADY (1995) 453
Trudier Harris MISS-TRAINED OR UNTRAINED? JACKLEG CRITICS AND AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE (OR, SOME OF MY ADVENTURES IN ACADEMIA) (1995) 461
Shauneille Perry Ryder WILL THE REAL BLACK THEATER PLEASE STAND UP? (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) 99
FROM "EVERYBODY'S PROTEST NOVEL" (1949) 91
THE CREATIVE PROCESS (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. IN BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN FICTION (1990) 303
Terry McMillan FROM "INTRODUCTION." IN 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. IN BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN FICTION (1990) 303
Terry McMillan FROM "INTRODUCTION." IN BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OP CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN FICTION (1990) 309
Alexs Pate MAKING HOME IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM: REFLECTIONS (1999) 487
POETRY
Phillis Wheatley ON 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 AN INTERVIEW WITH JUNE JORDAN (1988) 273
Jerry W Ward Jr. FROM "ALVIN AUBERT: THE LEVEE, THE BLUES, THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI" (1989) 278
E. Ethelbert Miller AN INTERVIEW WITH CORNELIUS EADY (1995) 453
DRAMA
Ossie Davis THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LORRAINE HANSBERRY (1965) 117
Larry Neal THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT (1968) 122
Shauneille Perry Ryder WILL THE REAL BLACK THEATER PLEASE STAND UP? (1984) 242
Sandra G. Shannon BLUES, HISTORY AND DRAMATURGY: AN INTERVIEW WITH AUGUST WILSON (1994) 364
CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE Carolyn F. Gerald THE BLACK WRITER AND HIS ROLE (1969) 129 John Edgar Wideman PREFACE. IN BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN FICTION (1990) 303
Terry McMillan FROM "INTRODUCTION." IN BREAKING ICE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN FICTION (1990) 309
E. Ethelbert Miller AN 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 NEW 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) 400 African American Literary Criticism in Context 493 Index 531