Conversations with John A. Williams
One of the most prolific African American authors of his time, John A. Williams (1925-2015) made his mark as a journalist, educator, and writer. Having worked for Newsweek, Ebony, and Jet magazines, Williams went on to write twelve novels and numerous works of nonfiction. A vital link between the Black Arts movement and the previous era, Williams crafted works of fiction that relied on historical research as much as his own finely honed skills. From The Man Who Cried I Am, a roman à clef about expatriate African American writers in Europe, to Clifford's Blues, a Holocaust novel told in the form of the diary entries of a gay, black, jazz pianist in Dachau, these representations of black experiences marginalized from official histories make him one of our most important writers.

Conversations with John A. Williams collects twenty-three interviews with the three-time winner of the American Book Award, beginning with a discussion in 1969 of his early works and ending with a previously unpublished interview from 2005. Gathered from print periodicals as well as radio and television programs, these interviews address a range of topics, including anti-black violence, Williams's WWII naval service, race and publishing, interracial romance, Martin Luther King Jr., growing up in Syracuse, the Prix de Rome scandal, traveling in Africa and Europe, and his reputation as an angry black writer. The conversations prove valuable given how often Williams drew from his own life and career for his fiction. They display the integrity, social engagement, and artistic vision that make him a writer to be reckoned with.
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Conversations with John A. Williams
One of the most prolific African American authors of his time, John A. Williams (1925-2015) made his mark as a journalist, educator, and writer. Having worked for Newsweek, Ebony, and Jet magazines, Williams went on to write twelve novels and numerous works of nonfiction. A vital link between the Black Arts movement and the previous era, Williams crafted works of fiction that relied on historical research as much as his own finely honed skills. From The Man Who Cried I Am, a roman à clef about expatriate African American writers in Europe, to Clifford's Blues, a Holocaust novel told in the form of the diary entries of a gay, black, jazz pianist in Dachau, these representations of black experiences marginalized from official histories make him one of our most important writers.

Conversations with John A. Williams collects twenty-three interviews with the three-time winner of the American Book Award, beginning with a discussion in 1969 of his early works and ending with a previously unpublished interview from 2005. Gathered from print periodicals as well as radio and television programs, these interviews address a range of topics, including anti-black violence, Williams's WWII naval service, race and publishing, interracial romance, Martin Luther King Jr., growing up in Syracuse, the Prix de Rome scandal, traveling in Africa and Europe, and his reputation as an angry black writer. The conversations prove valuable given how often Williams drew from his own life and career for his fiction. They display the integrity, social engagement, and artistic vision that make him a writer to be reckoned with.
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Conversations with John A. Williams

Conversations with John A. Williams

by Jeffrey Allen Tucker (Editor)
Conversations with John A. Williams

Conversations with John A. Williams

by Jeffrey Allen Tucker (Editor)

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Overview

One of the most prolific African American authors of his time, John A. Williams (1925-2015) made his mark as a journalist, educator, and writer. Having worked for Newsweek, Ebony, and Jet magazines, Williams went on to write twelve novels and numerous works of nonfiction. A vital link between the Black Arts movement and the previous era, Williams crafted works of fiction that relied on historical research as much as his own finely honed skills. From The Man Who Cried I Am, a roman à clef about expatriate African American writers in Europe, to Clifford's Blues, a Holocaust novel told in the form of the diary entries of a gay, black, jazz pianist in Dachau, these representations of black experiences marginalized from official histories make him one of our most important writers.

Conversations with John A. Williams collects twenty-three interviews with the three-time winner of the American Book Award, beginning with a discussion in 1969 of his early works and ending with a previously unpublished interview from 2005. Gathered from print periodicals as well as radio and television programs, these interviews address a range of topics, including anti-black violence, Williams's WWII naval service, race and publishing, interracial romance, Martin Luther King Jr., growing up in Syracuse, the Prix de Rome scandal, traveling in Africa and Europe, and his reputation as an angry black writer. The conversations prove valuable given how often Williams drew from his own life and career for his fiction. They display the integrity, social engagement, and artistic vision that make him a writer to be reckoned with.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781496815378
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication date: 02/20/2018
Series: Literary Conversations Series
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 324
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

Jeffrey Allen Tucker is associate professor in the Department of English at the University of Rochester. He is author of A Sense of Wonder: Samuel R. Delany, Race, Identity, and Difference and coeditor of Race Consciousness: African-American Studies for the New Century.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Chronology xxiii

On Sons of Darkness, Sons of Light Leigh Crutchley / 1969 3

An Interview with John A. Williams: The Harvard Crimson / 1971 7

John A. Williams: Agent Provocateur Fred Beauford / 1971 13

Interview-October 25, 1971 and Interview-June 9, 1972 Earl A. Cash / 1971 18

The Art of John A. Williams John O'Brien / 1971 48

John A. Williams: On Captain Blackman Dick Strout / 1972 61

Novelist in Motion: Interview with John A. Williams Joseph T. Skerrett Jr. / 1973 65

John Williams at 49: An Interview Dan Georgakas / 1974 82

The Black Artist in New York: An Interview with John A. Williams W. Francis Browne / 1975 99

An Interview with John A. Williams: Journalist and Novelist James Match / 1981 107

Contemporary Authors Interview Jean W. Ross / 1981 120

Cross-Country Chat with John A. Williams Steven Corbin / 1985 126

Interview with John A. Williams John Albert Jansen / 1988 132

An Interview with John A. Williams Kay Bonetti Callison / 1989 142

Black Authors: John A. Williams Charlie Rose / 1990 162

On If I Stop I'll Die: The Comedy and Tragedy of Richard Pryor-Interview with John A. Williams and Dennis A. Williams Joe Hunter / 1991 172

John A. Williams Wolfgang Binder / 1995 180

An Interview with John A. Williams Dennis A. Williams / 1995 195

Clifford's Blues: A Conversation with John A. Williams Gilbert H. Muller Michael Blaine Raymond C. Bowen / 2000 217

A Cry in the American Wilderness: John A. Williams Reflects on Life, Work, and the American Way Vincent F. A. Golphin / 2003 227

Hard Truths: John A. Williams Illuminates the Black Experience Ron Netsky / 2003 241

Vanqui: Original Opera that Blends African and Classical Themes Tavis Smiley / 2004 253

On Safari West Jeffrey Allen Tucker / 2005 257

Index 287

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