Charles Johnson: The Novelist as Philosopher
Essays by Herman Beavers, Gena Chandler, Marc C. Conner, William Gleason, William R. Nash, Linda Selzer, Gary Storhoff, and John Whalen-Bridge In Charles Johnson: The Novelist as Philosopher, leading scholars examine the African American author's literary corpus and major themes, ideas, and influences. The essays explore virtually all of Johnson's writings: each of his novels, his numerous short stories, the range of his nonfiction essays, his many book reviews, and even several unpublished works. These essays engage Johnson's work from a variety of critical perspectives, revealing the philosophical, cultural, and political implications of his writings. The authors seek especially to understand "philosophical black fiction" and to provide the multifocal, "whole sight" analysis Johnson's work demands. Johnson (b. 1948)--author of Dreamer, Oxherding Tale, and the National Book Award-winning Middle Passage draws upon influences as diverse as Richard Wright, Herman Melville, Thomas Aquinas, Franz Kafka, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. He combines rigorous training in western philosophy with a lifelong practice in eastern religious and philosophical traditions. He has repeatedly told interviewers that he became a writer specifically to strengthen the interplay between philosophy and fiction. Marc C. Conner is associate professor of English at Washington and Lee University. William R. Nash is associate professor of American studies and director of African American studies at Middlebury College.
1100391707
Charles Johnson: The Novelist as Philosopher
Essays by Herman Beavers, Gena Chandler, Marc C. Conner, William Gleason, William R. Nash, Linda Selzer, Gary Storhoff, and John Whalen-Bridge In Charles Johnson: The Novelist as Philosopher, leading scholars examine the African American author's literary corpus and major themes, ideas, and influences. The essays explore virtually all of Johnson's writings: each of his novels, his numerous short stories, the range of his nonfiction essays, his many book reviews, and even several unpublished works. These essays engage Johnson's work from a variety of critical perspectives, revealing the philosophical, cultural, and political implications of his writings. The authors seek especially to understand "philosophical black fiction" and to provide the multifocal, "whole sight" analysis Johnson's work demands. Johnson (b. 1948)--author of Dreamer, Oxherding Tale, and the National Book Award-winning Middle Passage draws upon influences as diverse as Richard Wright, Herman Melville, Thomas Aquinas, Franz Kafka, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. He combines rigorous training in western philosophy with a lifelong practice in eastern religious and philosophical traditions. He has repeatedly told interviewers that he became a writer specifically to strengthen the interplay between philosophy and fiction. Marc C. Conner is associate professor of English at Washington and Lee University. William R. Nash is associate professor of American studies and director of African American studies at Middlebury College.
50.0 In Stock
Charles Johnson: The Novelist as Philosopher

Charles Johnson: The Novelist as Philosopher

Charles Johnson: The Novelist as Philosopher

Charles Johnson: The Novelist as Philosopher

eBook

$50.00 

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers


Overview

Essays by Herman Beavers, Gena Chandler, Marc C. Conner, William Gleason, William R. Nash, Linda Selzer, Gary Storhoff, and John Whalen-Bridge In Charles Johnson: The Novelist as Philosopher, leading scholars examine the African American author's literary corpus and major themes, ideas, and influences. The essays explore virtually all of Johnson's writings: each of his novels, his numerous short stories, the range of his nonfiction essays, his many book reviews, and even several unpublished works. These essays engage Johnson's work from a variety of critical perspectives, revealing the philosophical, cultural, and political implications of his writings. The authors seek especially to understand "philosophical black fiction" and to provide the multifocal, "whole sight" analysis Johnson's work demands. Johnson (b. 1948)--author of Dreamer, Oxherding Tale, and the National Book Award-winning Middle Passage draws upon influences as diverse as Richard Wright, Herman Melville, Thomas Aquinas, Franz Kafka, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. He combines rigorous training in western philosophy with a lifelong practice in eastern religious and philosophical traditions. He has repeatedly told interviewers that he became a writer specifically to strengthen the interplay between philosophy and fiction. Marc C. Conner is associate professor of English at Washington and Lee University. William R. Nash is associate professor of American studies and director of African American studies at Middlebury College.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781604735079
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication date: 02/12/2007
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 399 KB

About the Author

Marc C. Conner is associate professor of English at Washington and Lee University.

William R. Nash is associate professor of American studies and director of African American studies at Middlebury College.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction: Charles Johnson and Philosophical Black Fiction   Marc C. Conner   William R. Nash     xi
The Genesis of Charles Johnson's Philosophical Fiction   Linda Selzer     1
"In-Itself-for-Me": Decomposition and Art in Charles Johnson's Oxherding Tale   Gena Chandler     20
Bondage and Discipline: The Pedagogy of Discomfort in The Sorcerer's Apprentice   Herman Beavers     40
To Utter the Holy: The Metaphysical Romance of Middle Passage   Marc C. Conner     57
"Go There": The Critical Pragmatism of Charles Johnson   William Gleason     82
Pragmatic Ethics in Charles Johnson's Fiction   Gary Storhoff     106
Invisible Threads: Charles Johnson and Feminine Civility   John Whalen-Bridge     127
"At the Numinous Heart of Being": Dreamer and Christian Theology   Marc C. Conner     150
The Application of an Ideal: Turning the Wheel as Ontological Program   William R. Nash     171
Works Cited     182
Contributors     191
Index     193
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews