Category: african american literature

Why do we read literature?; or, Questions from the Classroom

During a class discussion last week on Ernest Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River,” a student asked, “Why do we read literature? Why do we read Hemingway?” I provided a generic answer and tried to get the class to respond with their own ideas. This method completely failed. I told the class, “I cannot give you a definitive answer to that question.” I went on to … Read More Why do we read literature?; or, Questions from the Classroom

August Wilson’s "Fences" and the American City

With the announcement that Denzel Washington would  be starring in one and producing all ten of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh cycle, I thought it would be fitting to do a brief post on Wilson’s Fences. Plenty of scholars have focused on the failure of the American Dream and the integration of sports in the play; however, I do not want to focus on what Troy … Read More August Wilson’s "Fences" and the American City

James Joyce’s "Dubliners" and Ernest J. Gaines

Last week, I led a discussion on the influence that James Joyce had on Ernest J. Gaines. I have written about this before, briefly, on the Ernest J. Gaines Center’s blog. There, I wrote about the reference to Joyce in Gaines’s A Lesson before Dying. Throughout his career, Gaines has espoused the ways that authors like Joyce provided models for his own writing. He … Read More James Joyce’s "Dubliners" and Ernest J. Gaines

Henry J. Lewis’s "The Great Southern Exodus"

Last post, I provided a syllabus for a class on migration narratives in African American literature. Today, I want to take a look at a cartoon by Henry J. Lewis that appeared in the Indianapolis Freeman in 1889. The Great Southern Exodus contains four frames that depict the migration of African Americans away from the South during the latter part of the nineteenth century. … Read More Henry J. Lewis’s "The Great Southern Exodus"

Migration and African American Literature Syllabus

Jacob Lawrence On the Ernest J. Gaines Center’s blog, I posted two syllabi: “The Short Story and Ernest Gaines Syllabus.” and “African American Crime and Detective Fiction.”  Today, I would like to do something similar on my own blog. Instead of having the syllabus center around Gaines or detective fiction, I want to share with you a syllabus I constructed entitled “Migration and African American … Read More Migration and African American Literature Syllabus