Canon confidential: a Sam Slade caper -- The master's pieces: on canon formation and the African-American tradition -- Writing, "Race" and the difference it makes -- Talking black: critical signs of the times --"Tell me, sir,...what IS "black" literature?" -- Integrating the American mind -- African-American studies in the 21st century -- "What's in a name?" Some meanings of blackness -- The big picture -- Trading on the margin: notes on the culture of criticism.
