| Passing in the Works of Charles W. Chesnutt Contributor(s): Wright, Susan Prothro (Editor), Glass, Ernestine Pickens (Editor) |
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ISBN: 1617033243 ISBN-13: 9781617033247 Publisher: University Press of Mississippi OUR PRICE: $29.70 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2012 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | American - African American - Literary Collections | Essays - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - African American Studies |
| Dewey: 813.4 |
| LCCN: 2009020701 |
| Series: Margaret Walker Alexander Series in African American Studies |
| Physical Information: 0.34" H x 6" W x 9" (0.50 lbs) 148 pages |
| Themes: - Ethnic Orientation - African American |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Passing in the Works of Charles W. Chesnutt is a collection that reevaluates Chesnutt's deft manipulation of the passing theme to expand understanding of the author's fiction and nonfiction. Nine contributors apply a variety of theories--including intertextual, signifying/discourse analysis, narratological, formal, psychoanalytical, new historical, reader response, and performative frameworks--to add richness to readings of Chesnutt's works. Together the essays provide convincing evidence that passing is an intricate, essential part of Chesnutt's writing, and that it appears in all the genres he wielded: journal entries, speeches, essays, and short and long fiction. The essays engage with each other to display the continuum in Chesnutt's thinking as he began his writing career and established his sense of social activism, as evidenced in his early journal entries. Collectively, the essays follow Chesnutt's works as he proceeded through the Jim Crow era, honing his ability to manipulate his mostly white audience through the astute, though apparently self-effacing, narrator, Uncle Julius, of his popular conjure tales. Chesnutt's ability to subvert audience expectations is equally noticeable in the subtle irony of his short stories. Several of the collection's essays address Chesnutt's novels, including Paul Marchand, F.M.C., Mandy Oxendine, The House Behind the Cedars, and Evelyn's Husband. The volume opens up new paths of inquiry into a major African American writer's oeuvre. |
Contributor Bio(s): Wright, Susan Prothro: - Susan Prothro Wright, associate professor of American and British literature at Clark Atlanta University, has published on Chesnutt and other American authors in a variety of scholarly venues.Glass, Ernestine Pickens: - Ernestine Pickens Glass is professor emerita of English at Clark Atlanta University. She is the author of Charles W. Chesnutt and the Progressive Movement and editor of Frederick Douglass by Charles W. Chesnutt: A Centenary Edition. |