african americans in literature

Presents a biography of Jamaican poet Claude McKay, and discusses his life in the context of the struggles of black intellectuals during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s.

Offers an in-depth analysis of the novels of African-American writer Toni Morrison, focusing on how she conveys the double consciousness of African-American life.

Argues that an analysis of Toni Morrison's canon reveals her increasing awareness of the class exploitation of African-Americans and race and gender oppression, attempts to show how Morrison uses her novels to discover solutions, and relates Morrison's life experiences to her fiction.

Examines selections of African-American literature that feature liberation motifs, including Frederick Douglass's autobiography, fiction novels by Rebecca Jackson and Booker T. Washington, Richard Wright's "Native Son," and Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon.".

Examines four novels from Toni Morrison, "The Bluest Eye," "Tar Baby," "Jazz," and "Beloved," discussing the relationship between race, generic forms, and the dominant culture, and describing Morrison's narrative strategies and the critical claim that her novels lack resolution.

Presents an examination of the work of Zora Neale Hurston, and describes how Hurston's ethnographies, plays, and fiction paint a picture of the rural African-American South.

Profiles the lives and work of twenty-four African American poets, including Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Alice Walker, and more.

Examines the life and works of poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Collects 367 alphabetically arranged essays, from A-Dre, that discuss the works of over one hundred African-American authors from the eighteenth through the early twenty-first century, covering genres and individual works by poets, novelists, playwrights, historians, critics, essayists, and orators.

A collection of essays by African-American poet Mari Evans in which she addresses the lives of African-Americans in the United States and provides advice on change; discussing family, politics, education, the importance of museums, and other related topics.