Category: american literature

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+ "The Only Man on Liberty Street", african american literature, american literature, cult of domesticity, dancers on the shore, domestic sphere, Literature, the servant problem, william melvin kelley

William Melvin Kelley’s “The Servant Problem” and the Domestic Sphere

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Last Thursday, I wrote about William Melvin Kelley’s “The Only Man on Liberty Street” from his 1964 short story collection Dancers on the Shore. Today, I want to take a moment to look at another story in that collection, “The Servant Problem,” exploring the ways that Kelley addresses the domestic space and sexual policing of black bodies, topics that occur in “The Only Man … Read More William Melvin Kelley’s “The Servant Problem” and the Domestic Sphere

+ "The Only Man on Liberty Street", a different drummer, african american literature, alice walker, american literature, dancers on the shore, Eli Rosenblatt, ernest j gaines, frank yerby, Literature, southern literature, william melvin kelley

William Melvin Kelley’s “The Only Man on Liberty Street” and Children

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I’ve read William Melvin Kelley’s Dem (1967) and A Different Drummer (1962). After reading Eli Rosenblatt’s piece on Kelley in May at Public Books, I decided to dig further into Kelley’s work, beginning with his short story collection Dancers on the Shore (1964). Immediately, two stories stuck out to me from the collection, “The Only Man on Liberty Street” and “The Servant Problem.” Over … Read More William Melvin Kelley’s “The Only Man on Liberty Street” and Children

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+ a letter from phillis wheatley, london 1773, african american literature, american literature, early american literature, on being brought from africa to america, phillis wheatley, poetry, robert hayden, to maecenas

Robert Hayden’s “A Letter From Phillis Wheatley, London 1773”

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As I got ready to teach Phillis Wheatley recently, I decided to incorporate Robert Hayden’s “A Letter from Phillis Wheatley London, 1773” which originally appeared in his 1978 collection American Journal. Of course, during our discussions, we related Hayden’s poem to Wheatley, but we also thought about other connections that could be made between “A Letter from Phillis Wheatley” and other texts we have … Read More Robert Hayden’s “A Letter From Phillis Wheatley, London 1773”

+ american literature, chocorua's curse, early american literature, lydia maria child, painting, the oxbow, thomas cole

Lydia Maria Child’s “Chocorua’s Curse” and the Paintings of Thomas Cole

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Back in October, I wrote about Lydia Maria Child’s “Chocorua’s Curse” and America’s literary presence. I’m not going to go back into the discussion from that post, I do want to expand a little on one of the allusion to the English born painter Thomas Cole that Child uses in the story. In the second paragraph, Child comments that Americans need to look for … Read More Lydia Maria Child’s “Chocorua’s Curse” and the Paintings of Thomas Cole

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+ african american literature, american literature, early american literature, frederick douglass, george washington, julius caesar, louisiana literature

Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” and How We Need to Think About the Past

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On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a speech entitled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Last week, I wrote about a small section of this speech, and today I want to expand that discussion some more, looking at what Douglass says about what we should do, or shouldn’t do, with the past. The entire speech, of course, focuses on America’s … Read More Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” and How We Need to Think About the Past

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