The Novels of the Harlem Renaissance: Twelve Black Writers, 1923-1933

by Amritjit Singh

Overview

Contents

1. "WHEN THE NEGRO WAS IN VOGUE" 1

The Harlem Renaissance and Black America

in the Twenties

2. RACE AND SEX 41

Approaches to Self-Definition

3. THE DICTIES AND THE SHINES 71

Class in Black America

4. "FOOLING OUR WHITE FOLKS" 89

Color Caste in American Life

5. THE BURDEN OF BLACKNESS 105

Color in Afro-America and Beyond

Epilogue 129

A Review of Previous Research and Criticism 135

Notes 139

Bibliography 153

Index 165

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780271012087
Publisher:	Penn State University Press
Publication date:	08/15/1976
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	1520L (what's this?)

About the Author

Amritjit Singh is Professor of English and African-American Studies at Rhode Island College. He is author of The Magic Circle of Henry James (1989) and The Harlem Renaissance: Revaluations (1989).

Table of Contents

Contents

1. "WHEN THE NEGRO WAS IN VOGUE" 1

The Harlem Renaissance and Black America

in the Twenties

2. RACE AND SEX 41

Approaches to Self-Definition

3. THE DICTIES AND THE SHINES 71

Class in Black America

4. "FOOLING OUR WHITE FOLKS" 89

Color Caste in American Life

5. THE BURDEN OF BLACKNESS 105

Color in Afro-America and Beyond

Epilogue 129

A Review of Previous Research and Criticism 135

Notes 139

Bibliography 153

Index 165

Editorial Reviews

[Singh] gives us a sober, sensitive, and well-digested analysis of twelve black novelists of the Harlem Renaissance in an attempt to focus on ‘interracial issues of self-definition, class, caste, and color in the work these writers.’ The twelve writers discussed are Bontemps, Cullen, DuBois, Redmon Fauset, Fisher, Hughes, Larsen, McKay, Schuyler, Thurman, Toomer, and White. It can be said that not all of these writers are of the first rank, nor do they exhaust the complex history of the Renaissance they represent. But the strength of Singh’s study is in its extensions into the ideological and cultural history of America in the Twenties—a history which is as much on the main highway as the history of the American Jazz Age.”

—World Literature Today

“This thoroughly researched book . . . concerns novels by W.E.B. DuBois, Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Jean Toomer. Singh first presents an excellent overview of the Twenties by combining the social, political, and cultural forces into a cohesive narrative. . . . He demonstrates a deep knowledge and understanding of this era by providing a smooth-flowing criticism of the works that have helped shape the black novel as it is known today. Highly recommended.”

—Library Journal

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