| Description |
xi, 214 pages ; 23 cm |
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text txt rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Prologue: Portrait of a Petit Marionette -- Introduction: Etiology of the Black Male Literary Text -- On Frederick Douglass and the "Image" of the Negro -- Ralph Ellison, Fictive Authority and Existential Heroism: Magic and the Prestige in the Invisible Man -- Interlude: Some notes along the way -- Colson Whitehead's "Dark Matter" Prophecy -- Cecil Brown: The Functional Negro and the rise of 'Jive Nigger' -- Conclusion: An Etiology of an Ending -- Epilogue: Petit Marionette in the black box |
| Summary |
"The Buck, the Black, and the Existential Hero: Refiguring the Black Male Literary Canon 1850 to Present develops a theory of the black male literary imagination"-- Provided by publisher. |
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"The Buck, the Black, and the Existential Hero: Refiguring the Black Male Literary Canon, 1850 to Present combines philosophy, literary theory, and jazz studies with Africana studies to develop a theory of the black male literary imagination. In doing so, it seeks to answer fundamental aesthetic and existential questions: How does the experience of being black and male in the modern West affect the telling of a narrative, the shape or structure of a novel, the development of characters and plot lines, and the nature of criticism itself? James B. Haile argues that, since black male identity is largely fluid and open to interpretation, reinterpretation, and misinterpretation, the literature of black men has developed flexibility and improvisation, termed the "jazz of life." Our reading of this literature requires the same kind of flexibility and improvisation to understand what is being said and why, as well as what is not being said and why. Finally, the book attempts to offer this new reading experience by placing texts by well-known authors, such as Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, and Colson Whitehead, in conversation with texts by those who are less well known and those who have, for the most part, been forgotten, in particular, Cecil Brown. Doing so challenges the reader to visit and revisit these novels with a new perspective about the social, political, historical, and psychic realities of black men." -- Provided by publisher. |
| Subject |
American literature -- African American authors -- 19th century -- History and criticism.
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American literature -- African American authors -- 20th century -- History and criticism.
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American literature -- African American authors -- 21st century -- History and criticism.
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African American men in literature.
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African American men in literature. (OCoLC)fst00799257
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American literature -- African American authors.
(OCoLC)fst00807114
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| Chronological Term |
1800-2099
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| Genre/Form |
Criticism, interpretation, etc. (OCoLC)fst01411635
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| ISBN |
9780810141650 paperback |
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0810141655 paperback |
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9780810141667 hardcover |
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0810141663 hardcover |
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9780810141674 electronic book |
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