intellectual life

A biography of Alain Locke that discusses his education, career as a professor, and promotion of the literary and artistic work of African Americans.

"In 1963 Attorney General Robert Kennedy sought out James Baldwin to explain the rage that threatened to engulf black America. Baldwin brought along some friends, including playwright Lorraine Hansberry, psychologist Kenneth Clark, and activist Jerome Smith. Kennedy walked away from the nearly three-hour meeting angry--that the black folk assembled didn't understand politics, that they weren't as easy to talk to as Martin Luther King, that they were more interested in witness than policy. Every big argument about race that persists to this day got a hearing in that room. Dyson believes we need a return to that discussion, talking across the chasm of color, with hope as our guide"--Adapted from publisher info and text material.

Presents a history of African American writers and journalists and discusses the contributions that have been made.

Provides brief biographical information on eleven Native American women writers and discusses their work through critical excerpts. Includes a bibliography of works written by each featured author.

Contains entries on the major topics, authors, and words of this period complete with reprinted full text literary criticism.