During our “Black Expatriate Writes in France” course, I had students journal and reflect upon their travels. I decided to keep a journal as well, and to this point, I have done three entires. The first one in Avignon took me a few days, because of various things, but I finally finished it before we left the city. Over the next few posts, I … Read More Avignon, France, May 8, 2023
+ african american art, african american literature, american history, civil rights, france, history, the stone face, william gardner smith
Over the past few posts, I have been looking at the tensions that Simeon feels in William Gardner Smith’s The Stone Face. Simeon leaves the United States for France, seeking refuge and escape from the racist oppression of white supremacy. He finds, as other African American expatriates do within the novel, the “illusion of safety.” This illusion provides a means of escape, a means … Read More Rootlessness and Action in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”
+ Achille Mbembe, african american literature, algeria, france, the stone face, whiteness, william gardner smith
William Gardner Smith’s The Stone Face, as I have written about over the past few posts, revolves around the tension that Simeon feels about living in Paris as the Civil Rights Movement occurs back in the United States. Simeon’s conflict arose partly from Smith’s own experiences as an expatriate in France but also from the experiences of other African America expatriate writes in France … Read More The Illusion of Safety in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”
Recently, I’ve been looking at “whiteness” in William Gardner Smith’s The Stone Face. Today, I want to continue that discussion by looking further at Simeon’s interactions with Ahmed and Hossein, specifically on going to Hossein’s apartment in Paris. While Simeon, earlier in the novel, recognizes, through his “double perspective,” the atrocities that the French enact upon the Algerians, the movement through the, as Simeon … Read More “We’re not racist!”: France in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”
+ african american art, african american literature, african americans, france, race, william gardner smith
Last post, I started looking at William Gardner Smith’s The Stone Face, a novel that, as Adam Shatz points out, presents whiteness not as a racial trait but as “a synonym for situational privilege.” Today, I want to continue that discussion by looking at Simeon’s dream sequence after he speaks with the Algerians at the cafe who call him “white.” This sequence takes place … Read More “Come die with me!”: Whiteness in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”
Interminable Rambling 