If you’ve ever wondered about the dedications offered by Black novelists in their books, then guess what? You’re not alone. Dedications, like the table of contents, copyright page, acknowledgements, and book blurbs are thought to be para-texts, that is, items that are a part of the book, but outside the main narrative. In addition … Black Novel Dedications
By Howard Rambsy II Fiction 1990: Devil in a Blue Dress 1991: A Red Death 1992: White Butterfly 1994: Black Betty 1995: RL’s Dream 1996: A Little Yellow Dog 1997: Gone Fishin’ 1998: Blue Light 1999: Walkin’ the Dog 2001: Fearless Jones 2002: Bad Boy Brawly Brown 2003: Fear Itself 2004: Little Scarlet 2004: The … A Checklist of Walter Mosley’s books
By Howard Rambsy II As a region, the South is the birthplace of many African American novelists. Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, Alice Walker, James Weldon Johnson, Gayl Jones, and Ernest Gaines among many others. With its history of brutal segregation and racism, the South is the home of all kinds of troubling circumstances, poverty, … Southern-born writers
By Howard Rambsy II Generation X, also known as Gen Xers, are people born between 1965 and 1980. Several talented and award-winning novelists emerged from this generation, including Colson Whitehead (b. 1969), Edwidge Danticat (b. 1969), Marlon Jones (b. 1970), N. K. Jemisin (b. 1972), Zadie Smith (b. 1975), Jesmyn Ward (b. 1977), and Chimamanda … Generation X (1965–1980)
By Howard Rambsy II Baby Boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964, include many accomplished Black novelists such as Octavia Butler (b. 1947), Charles Johnson (b. 1948), Gayl Jones (b. 1949), Gloria Naylor (b. 1950), Edward P. Jones (b. 1951), Walter Mosely (b. 1952), and Paul Beatty (b. 1962), to name some of the authors. … Baby Boomer (1946–1964)
By Howard Rambsy II The Silent Generation, people born between 1928 and 1945, include several well-known African American and African novelists. In the United States, as children, the cohort experienced the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II. When many of the generation were in their 30s, the country experienced the Civil Rights … The Silent Generation (1928–1945)
By Howard Rambsy II The Greatest Generation, people born between 1901 and 1927, include some of the first Black novelists to become widely popular and critically acclaimed, most notably Richard Wright (b. 1908), Ralph Ellison (b. 1914), and James Baldwin (b. 1924). The Greatest Generation came of age during the Great Depression of the 1930s … The Greatest Generation (1901–1927)
By Howard Rambsy II The Battle Royal scene from Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) remains one of the most popular, frequently referenced scenes in African American literature. Ellison’s composition, initially published as a short story “Invisible Man” in 1947, was later retitled “Battle Royal.” The story later appeared as part of Ellison’s famous novel. … The Battle Royal scene from Invisible Man
By Howard Rambsy II Historical fiction, as a genre, refers to fiction set in an identifiable period in the distant past. In the context of African American literature, novels about slavery, also known as neo-slave narratives, constitute some of the most known examples of historical fiction. But historical fiction can include various times, including the … Historical Fiction
By Elizabeth Cali In December 1973, New York Times critic Sara Blackburn published a now infamous review of Toni Morrison’s second novel, Sula. After extolling Morrison’s fiction writing capabilities, Blackburn posited that Morrison was far too talented to limit her subject matter to African American lives and cultures – or, what Blackburn referred to as … The question white folks could not stop asking Toni Morrison