Brief considerations of hyphens in relation to the phrase African American novels.
Narration by Kassandra Timm
Whiteboard animation by Sierra Taylor
Sunday, March 31, 2024
Black, Black American, African American Novelists
Brief considerations of ways of describing novelists
Script by Howard Rambsy II
Narration by Kassandra Timm
Whiteboard animation by Sierra Taylor
Friday, March 29, 2024
Eugene B. Redmond and the Time Machine Operator
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He's been an active reader, art enthusiast, attorney, and now Cleophus Thomas, Jr. adds time machine operator to his resume. Here's how.
He recently contacted me and noted that he had some books by Eugene B. Redmond. He asked would Redmond autograph them. Of course. I had Attorney Thomas send me the books, and I took them to Redmond's house to get them signed.
Thomas somehow got his hands on Redmond's first poetry book, Sentry of the Four Golden Pillars (1970) and his second one, Songs from an Afro/Phone (1972). Thomas also acquired Redmond's Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry (1976) and Arkansippi Memwars: Poetry, Prose & Chants 1962-2012 (2014).
Seeing those 1970s books took Redmond back in time.
He shared some stories with me about what he was thinking about the world at that time. But beyond what he shared with me out loud, I could see him thinking to himself, recalling memories as he held the books in his hands.
"Wow," he'd say, and shake his head while looking at the books. "Wow." He published Sentry and Song more than 50 years ago. So more than five decades of writing, teaching, researching, traveling, living.
"This was my first book of poetry," Redmond said as he prepared to sign Sentry. "This image was done by Oliver Jackson. A really talented artist."
"You ever seen this one?" Redmond asked as he held and prepared to sign Songs from an Afro/Phone.
"When I've seen it," I informed Redmond, "it was under a glass," as in a collection with books from the 1970s. "Or, I'd seen photocopies of it. But not the actual volume."
I've had many conversations over the last two decades with Redmond about his book Drumvoices, so we didn't talk as much about that one.
What a good time we had this morning talking poetry and literary criticism and the arts. Big ups to Cleo Thomas, the time machine operator, for sending Redmond and me back to the 1970s, and for giving me yet another excuse to have a long winding conversation with him.
Related:Thursday, March 28, 2024
Black poetry and African American literary studies
I've spent some time with colleagues over the last couple months talking about the development of African American literary studies as a field. We ended up really talking about the late 1980s through the mid-1990s when there was, it seemed, an increase in scholarly production.
I looked back on a 2014 blog entry, "African American Lit. & Literary Studies: A Timeline, 1986-2014," and I see I've been returning to these issues for quite some time now.
When I look at that moment, though, it occurs to me that many of the works that gained notice focused on African American fiction, not poetry. It's not that people didn't cover Black poetry, but there was nothing to the level that folks produced scholarship on Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and other novels.
There was a larger convergence of scholars on Black fiction studies than on Black poetry studies. I suppose fiction touched people in different ways than poetry. Too, perhaps fiction lent itself to analyses in ways that poetry did not.
I haven't fully figured it out yet, but I'm noting it here and will return to the topic as I gather more information.
Monday, March 25, 2024
English majors and Career Preparation (transcription)
[The transcript from this episode of Remarkable Receptions.]
“What are you going to do with a degree in English?”“Can you do anything other than teach?”
Versions of these questions haunt English majors and members of English departments at universities across the country. Concerns about job prospects and career options may even have led to a decline in the numbers of people who select English as a major.
Fortunately, the Modern Language Association just released a report highlighting encouraging possibilities for English majors, especially when students receive adequate support and preparation.
You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions—a podcast about popular and critical responses to African American novels and more.
English majors and Career Preparation
A brief take on the Modern Language Association's “Report on English Majors’ Career Preparation and Outcomes.”
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Written by Howard Rambsy, read by Kassandra Timm.
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Related:
• [Transcript here]
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Colorism and Black Literature
A short take on intra-racial bias based on skin color in African American literature.
Read by Kassandra Timm
Saturday, March 23, 2024
A Sociology of African American Literature - ep. by Howard Rambsy II
A short take on Jerry W. Ward's idea of a sociology of African American literature.
Monday, March 11, 2024
The Coverage of Percival Everett's James
2024
• June 21: Integrity and Defiance in Equal Measure - Nicolaus Mills - Dissent
• June 20: Spielberg, Waititi, Universal Teaming to Adapt Percival Everett’s ‘James’ - Aaron Couch - Hollywood Reporter
• June 20: Universal to Adapt Percival Everett’s ‘James,’ Steven Spielberg to EP - Jeremy Fuster - The Wrap
• June 20: Spielberg’s Amblin to Produce Adaptation of ‘James’ for Universal - Brent Lang - Variety
• June 17: Tell and Tell Again: On Percival Everett’s “James” - Evan Grillon - Los Angeles Review of Books
• April 3: Huckleberry Jim - Clifford Thompson - TLS
• April 3: James by Percival Everett — a master at the peak of his powers - Arin Keeble - Financial Times
• April 2: Percival Everett on his novel retelling ‘Huckleberry Finn’ from Jim’s point of view - PBS
• March 30: Percival Everett's new book 'James' is not about slavery. It's about an enslaved individual. - Samantha Koon Jones - Daily Progress
• March 28: On Reading And/Or Thinking - James Livingston - Politics, Letters, Persons
• March 25: Gulp Fiction, or Into The Missouri-verse: On Percival Everett’s “James” - Matt Seybold - Cleveland Review of Books
• March 25: Percival Everett’s ‘James’ Builds a New Story From an Old One - Kashif Andrew Graham - Nashville Scene
• March 25: James Author Percival Everett on Freedom, Violence, and the Lure of Huckleberry Finn - Cree Myles - Elle
• March 24: Writer Percival Everett: "In ownership of language there resides great power" - Martha Teichner - CBS News
• March 24: "James" author Percival Everett on race, language and art - CBS News
• March 22: Percival Everett’s new novel reworks Mark Twain. But ‘James’ has a different mission - Erik Pedersen - The Orange County Register
• March 22: Percival Everett centers a new voice in 'James,' a retelling of 'Huckleberry Finn' - NPR
• March 21: Poured Over: Percival Everett on James - Barnes and Noble
March 20: “Calling It an ‘Adventure’ Would Be Redundant”: Novelist Percival Everett on His Explosive Reimagining of Huckleberry Finn - Library of America
• March 19: In 'James,' the great American novel 'Huckleberry Finn' gets an update -Jarvis DeBerry - MSNBC
• March 19: Percival Everett Can’t Be Pinned Down - James Yeh - Vulture
Ellen Gamerman - Wall Street Journal
• March 19: In “James,” Percival Everett Does More than Reimagine “Huck Finn” - Bareerah Ghani - Electric Lit
• March 19: Percival Everett's New Novel Is Destined to Become a Modern Classic - Adrienne Westenfeld - Esquire
• March 18: Huck’s Jim Gets a Chance to Speak for Himself In James - Geoffrey Himes - Paste
• March 18: 'James' revisits Huck Finn's traveling companion, giving rise to a new classic - Carole V. Bell - NPR
• March 18: James - Sarah McCraw Crow - BookPage
• March 17: Book excerpt: "James" by Percival Everett - CBS News
• March 15: How acclaimed novelist Percival Everett is retelling Twain's 'Huckleberry Finn' - Andrew Limbong - NPR
• March 14: Percival Everett's James gives Huck Finn's Jim full personhood - Walton Muyumba - Boston Globe
• March 14: What’s behind the wave of literary retellings? - The Economist
• March 13: James’ Review: Percival Everett’s Retelling of Twain - Sam Sacks - Wall Street Journal
• March 13: Forget Huck Finn. Novel 'James' tells us what Jim thought on the Mississippi - Angela Ajayi - Star Tribune
• March 12: A Bloody Retelling of Huckleberry Finn - Tyler Austin Harper - The Atlantic
• March 12: Under the Surface - Laura Miller - Slate
• March 12: Jim gets his say in Percival Everett’s retelling of Twain classic - Leah Tyler - Atlanta Journal Constitution
• March 11: Percival Everett Is Messing With You - Gene Seymour - New Republic
• March 11: Percival Everett Can't Say What His Novels Mean - Maya Binyam - New Yorker
• March 11: ‘Huck Finn’ Is a Masterpiece. This Retelling Just Might Be, Too - Dwight Garner - New York Times• March 8: Percival Everett’s sly take on ‘Huck Finn’ upends Mark Twain’s world - Ron Charles - Washington Post
• March 4: Everett’s ‘James’ retells Huck Finn through Jim’s eyes - Colette Bancroft - Tampa Bay Times
• January 1: James - Lesley Williams - Booklist
2023
• December 16: James - Kirkus Reviews
November 20: James - Publishers Weekly
• February 10: Percival Everett is rewriting Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective. - Dan Sheehan - Lit Hub
Related:
Saturday, March 9, 2024
The Internal Dialogue of Colson Whitehead's Crook Manifesto
A short take on the inner musings of characters from Colson Whitehead's Crook Manifesto (2023).
This episode was co-written by Nicole Dixon,
Rie’Onna Holmon, Jalen White, and Howard Rambsy. The episode was read by Kassandra Timm.
Related
The Internal Dialogue of Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle
A short take on the inner musings of characters from Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle (2021).
Related
This episode was co-written by Nicole Dixon,
Rie’Onna Holmon, Jalen White, and Howard Rambsy. The episode was read by Kassandra Timm.
Related
Entries for Multi-threaded Literary Briefs
Here's a roundup of the entries for our Multi-threaded Literary Briefs project.
• Key scenes• Keywords
• Novel adaptations• Book & Literary History• Literary Data Work• Style & Structure• Lists• Reading & Teaching Fiction• Afrofuturism• Teaching Morrison Beyond Fiction• Award-winning Fiction• A Checklist of Octavia Butler's books• A Checklist of Marc Olden's books• Reading The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead• The Epistolary Structure of The Color Purple• A Checklist of Neo-Slave Narratives• The Literary Data Gallery• A Brief History on How Pauline Hopkins v Published 3 Novels in 3 Years• A Checklist of Toni Morrison's works• A Checklist of Colson Whitehead’s works• 25 Novels Adapted to films and miniseries• Pauline Hopkins and a Legacy of Fiction Publishing• The Processes of Literary Data Work• Antebellum Slave Narrative• Barbara Christian, Black women novelists, and Berkeley• Multigenerational Novels• Multiperspective Novels• Neo-Slave Narrative• Contemporary Narratives of Slavery• Racial Passing• The Flying African• Trope of the Tragic Mulatta• The question white folks could not stop asking Toni Morrison• Historical Fiction• The Battle Royal scene from Invisible Man
• The Silent Generation (1928 – 1945) • The Greatest Generation (1901 – 1927) • Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964) • Generation X (1965 – 1980)• Southern-born writers• A Checklist of Walter Mosley’s books• A Brief on the Multi-threaded Literary Briefs• Neo-Slave Narratives: Briefs• Black Novel Dedications
Related
Friday, March 1, 2024
African American Literary History and the Contemporary Problem
When does the contemporary period in African American literary history begin?
Script by Howard Rambsy II
Narration by Kassandra Timm
Whiteboard animation by Sierra Taylor
Blogging about poetry in February 2024
[Related content: Blogging about Poetry]
• February 29: Eugene B. Redmond and Black Arts era poets
• February 6: 1987 - Pivotal Year in Black Literary History
• February 1: Blogging about poetry in January 2024
• February 1: Blogging about poetry in January 2024