Books
A collection of essential writings from the iconic foremother of Black women’s intellectual history, feminism, and activism.
now available!
The Portable Anna Julia Cooper
A Penguin Classic
“Paperbacks to Read This Week” –NY Times
“Most Anticipated Reads of 2022” –Ms. Magazine
“Anna Julia Cooper…is poised for a revival. This volume will send her on her way.” –NY Journal of Books
“Anna Julia Cooper…is poised for a revival. This volume will send her on her way.” –NY Journal of Books
The Portable Anna Julia Cooper brings together, for the first time, Anna Julia Cooper's major collection of essays, A Voice from the South, along with several previously unpublished poems, plays, journalism and selected correspondences, including over thirty previously unpublished letters between Anna Julia Cooper and W. E. B. Du Bois. The Portable Anna Julia Cooper will introduce a new generation of readers to an educator, public intellectual, and community activist whose prescient insights and eloquent prose underlie some of the most important developments in modern American intellectual thought and African American social and political activism.
African American Literature in Transition, 1900–1910
Cambridge University Press, 2021
Offering a wide ranging, multi-disciplinary approach to early twentieth-century African American literature and culture, African American Literature in Transition showcases the literary and cultural productions that took shape in the critical years after Reconstruction but before the Harlem Renaissance — the period known as the nadir of African American history.
This book uncovers the dynamic work being done by Black authors, painters, photographers, poets, editors, boxers, and entertainers to shape 'New Negro' identities and to chart a new path for a new century. Introducing established figures of the movement alongside lesser-known texts and original research, African American Literature in Transition offers a radical re-conceptualization of a critical but understudied period in African American literary history.
Don’t miss the 2021 virtual online launch party hosted by Cambridge University Press! Watch it here.
Black Folklore and the Politics of Racial Representation
University of Mississippi Press, 2013
"This book is a splendidly original and extremely well-written contribution to black folklore and literary studies. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the politics of representation, American intellectual history, and the history of folklore studies." ~ Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University
Before the innovative work of Zora Neale Hurston, folklorists from the Hampton Institute collected, studied, and wrote about African American folklore. Like Hurston, these folklorists worked within but also beyond the bounds of white mainstream institutions. They often called into question the meaning of the very folklore projects in which they were engaged.
Black Folklore and the Politics of Racial Representation analyzes this output, along with the contributions of a disparate group of African American authors and scholars. It explores how black authors and folklorists were active participants — rather than passive observers — in conversations about the politics of representing black folklore. Examining literary texts, folklore documents, cultural performances, legal discourse, and political rhetoric, this book demonstrates how folklore studies became a battleground across which issues of racial identity and difference were asserted and debated at the turn of the twentieth century.
Listen to me talk about Black Folklore and the Politics of Racial Representation on the Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Radio Podcast!
Contemporary African American Literature: The Living Canon
Indiana University Press, 2013
"A compelling collection of essays on the ongoing relevance of African American literature to our collective understanding of American history, society, and culture. Featuring a wide array of writers from all corners of the literary academy, the book will have national appeal and offer strategies for teaching African American literature in colleges and universities across the country.” ~ Gene Jarrett, Boston University
This collection of essays offers access to some of the most innovative contemporary black fiction while addressing important issues in current African American literary studies. Distinguished scholars Houston Baker, Trudier Harris, Darryl Dickson-Carr, and Maryemma Graham join writers and younger scholars to explore the work of Toni Morrison, Edward P. Jones, Trey Ellis, Paul Beatty, Mat Johnson, Kyle Baker, Danzy Senna, Nikki Turner, and many others. Together, co-editors Lovalerie King and Shirley Moody-Turner make the case that diversity, innovation, and canon expansion are essential to maintaining the vitality of African American literary studies.