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
By Elizabeth Cali Barbara Christian’s scholarly work is perhaps most noted for her 1980 scholarly monograph focused on Black women novelists, Black Women Novelists: The Development of a Tradition, 1892-1976 and her 1987 essay “The Race for Theory.” Her work brought attention to Black women authors such as Frances Harper, Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, … Barbara Christian, Black women novelists, and Berkeley
By Elizabeth Cali Pauline Hopkins – an African American woman writer, editor, and activist – took over editorial control of fiction publishing at the Black magazine The Colored American Magazine in February 1901. To that point, from May 1900 – February 1901, the magazine had published typically two fiction entries per issue, with a general … Pauline Hopkins and a Legacy of Fiction Publishing
Novels1999: The Intuitionist2001: John Henry Days2006: Apex Hides the Hurt2009: Sag Harbor2011: Zone One2016: The Underground Railroad2019: The Nickel Boys2021: Harlem Shuffle Nonfiction2003: The Colossus of New York: A City in 13 Parts2014: The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky, and Death Essays2001: “The Image”2001: “Lost and Found”2001: “I Worked at an Ill-Conceived Internet Start-Up and … A Checklist of Colson Whitehead’s works
By Howard Rambsy II Novels and short fiction1970: The Bluesy Eye1973: Sula1977: Song of Solomon1981: Tar Baby1983: “Recitatif” (short story)1987: Beloved1992: Jazz1997: Paradise2003: Love2008: A Mercy2012: Home2015: “Sweetness”2015: God Help the Child Nonfiction1992: Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination2008: What Moves at the Margin: Selected Nonfiction (edited by Carolyn C. Denard)2017: The … A Checklist of Toni Morrison’s works
By Elizabeth Cali From March 1901 – November 1903, African American woman writer Pauline Hopkins had three of her novels serialized in a major Black magazine, The Colored American Magazine. What made this possible? When The Colored American Magazine entered circulation in May 1900, Hopkins was an early contributor and she had connections to the … A Brief History on How Pauline Hopkins Published 3 Novels in 3 Years
By Howard Rambsy II 1936: Black Thunder by Arna Bontemps1966: Jubilee by Margaret Walker1971: The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest Gaines1976: Flight to Canada by Ishmael Reed1976: Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley1979: Sally Hemings by Barbara Chase-Riboud1979: Kindred by Octavia Butler1980: Wild Seed by Octavia butler1981: The Chaneysville … A Checklist of Neo-Slave Narratives
By Howard Rambsy II 1976: Patternmaster1977: Mind of My Mind1978: Survivor 1979: Kindred1980: Wild Seed1984: Clay’s Ark1987: Dawn1988: Adulthood Rites1989: Imago1989: Xenogenesis (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago)1993: Parable of the Sower1995: Bloodchild and Other Stories 1998: Parable of the Talents2000: Lilith’s Brood (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago)2005: Fledgling 2007: Seed to Harvest (Wild Seed, Mind … A Checklist of Octavia Butler’s books
By Howard Rambsy II 1953: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) – National Book Award for Fiction1978: James Alan McPherson’s Elbow Room* (1977) – Pulitzer Prize for Fiction1983: Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (1982) – Pulitzer Prize for Fiction1983: Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (1982) – National Book Award for Fiction1988: Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987) – … Award-winning fiction
By Elizabeth Cali and Howard Rambsy II African American novels have been a pillar of Black storytelling since the turn of the 20th century. But what about the stories about how those novels came to be? Book and literary histories include the surrounding creation, circulation, and reception stories related to the novel in one’s hands. … Book & Literary History