The Novels of the Harlem Renaissance
Twelve Black Writers, 1923–1933
Amritjit Singh
“[Singh] gives us a sober, sensitive, and well-digested analysis of twelve black novelists of the Harlem Renaissance in an attempt to focus on ‘interracial issues of self-definition, class, caste, and color in the work these writers.’ The twelve writers discussed are Bontemps, Cullen, DuBois, Redmon Fauset, Fisher, Hughes, Larsen, McKay, Schuyler, Thurman, Toomer, and White. It can be said that not all of these writers are of the first rank, nor do they exhaust the complex history of the Renaissance they represent. But the strength of Singh’s study is in its extensions into the ideological and cultural history of America in the Twenties—a history which is as much on the main highway as the history of the American Jazz Age.”
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“[Singh] gives us a sober, sensitive, and well-digested analysis of twelve black novelists of the Harlem Renaissance in an attempt to focus on ‘interracial issues of self-definition, class, caste, and color in the work these writers.’ The twelve writers discussed are Bontemps, Cullen, DuBois, Redmon Fauset, Fisher, Hughes, Larsen, McKay, Schuyler, Thurman, Toomer, and White. It can be said that not all of these writers are of the first rank, nor do they exhaust the complex history of the Renaissance they represent. But the strength of Singh’s study is in its extensions into the ideological and cultural history of America in the Twenties—a history which is as much on the main highway as the history of the American Jazz Age.”
“This thoroughly researched book . . . concerns novels by W.E.B. DuBois, Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Jean Toomer. Singh first presents an excellent overview of the Twenties by combining the social, political, and cultural forces into a cohesive narrative. . . . He demonstrates a deep knowledge and understanding of this era by providing a smooth-flowing criticism of the works that have helped shape the black novel as it is known today. Highly recommended.”
Amritjit Singh is Professor of English and African-American Studies at Rhode Island College. He is author of The Magic Circle of Henry James (1989) and The Harlem Renaissance: Revaluations (1989).
Contents
1. "WHEN THE NEGRO WAS IN VOGUE" 1
The Harlem Renaissance and Black America
in the Twenties
2. RACE AND SEX 41
Approaches to Self-Definition
3. THE DICTIES AND THE SHINES 71
Class in Black America
4. "FOOLING OUR WHITE FOLKS" 89
Color Caste in American Life
5. THE BURDEN OF BLACKNESS 105
Color in Afro-America and Beyond
Epilogue 129
A Review of Previous Research and Criticism 135
Notes 139
Bibliography 153
Index 165
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