Thirty Years of Black American Literature and Literary Studies: A ReviewAuthor(s): Farah Jasmine GriffinSource: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 35, No. 2, Special Issue: Back to the Future ofCivilization: Celebrating 30 Years of African American Studies (Nov., 2004), pp. 165-174Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4129299Accessed: 30/06/2009 10:23

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THIRTY YEARS OF BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE

AND LITERARY STUDIES A Review

FARAH JASMINE GRIFFIN Columbia University of New York

The past 30 years have witnessed an explosion of literary production by people of African descent. Although Black writers have been publishing their work for centuries, this has been an era of institutionalizing and diver- sifying literature, identifying and creating a market for it, and formalizing its study. This article explores a number of major trends that have influ- enced the production, distribution, and reception of African American liter- ature since the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.

Keywords: Black literature; African American literature; popular Black literature; Black women's writing

Since the founding of African American studies at the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania 30 years ago, we have witnessed an explosion of literary production by people of African descent. Although Black writers have been publishing their work for centuries, this has been an era of institutionalizing and diversifying literature, identifying and creating a market for it, and formalizing its study. All of these changes are the result of the gains of the civil rights, Black power, and Black arts movements, as well as a profound response to the latter. Several important trends seem to have emerged during this time:

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please address all correspondence to Farah Jasmine Griffin, Columbia University of New York, 602 Philosophy Hall, Mail Code 4927, Depart- ment of English and Comparative Literature, New York NY 10027; e-mail: fjg8 @ Columbia.edu.

JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES, Vol. 35 No. 2, November 2004 165-174 DOI: 10. 1177/0021934704266722

? 2004 Sage Publications

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166 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 2004

* the institutionalization of Black literary study within the academy as evidenced by the increase in the number of African American lit- erature courses;

* the number of positions advertised for teachers of African Ameri- can literature

* the increase in scholarly monographs about Black literature; * the publication of the Norton Anthology ofAfrican American Liter-

ature (Gates & McKay, 1997), edited by a number of powerful and influential African American critics of African American literature;

* the impact of literary theory on the study of African American liter- ature and subsequently on methodologies in other disciplines that

explore Black life in the Americas; * the publication of more books by Black women writers; * the rise in the production of Black commercial fiction; * the creation of new literary and artistic institutions outside of the

academy, such as Art Sanctuary, founded by Lorene Cary, and the Before Columbus Foundation, founded by Ishmael Reed;

* the number of prestigious prizes won by African American writers

(e.g., Toni Morrison's Nobel Prize and Alice Walker's Pulitzer); and

* the emergence of the Internet as a site of publication, distribution, and discussion.

I will focus my attention on the first seven bulleted points. The University of Pennsylvania has played a central role in the

development of the field of African American literary studies. In

addition to graduating distinguished writers such as John Edgar Wideman, David Bradley, Lorene Cary, and the poet Elizabeth

Alexander, the university has also produced a whole generation of

literary critics, such as Michael Awkward, Lindon Barrett, Nicole

King, Kim Hall, Jennifer Devere Brody, and Stephen Best, among others. A number of undergraduates have prepared for graduate study under the tutelage of Penn teachers. With the addition of

Herman Beavers to the faculty, the university is also one of few

places where students might engage in the study of African Ameri-

can poetry. Most significantly, during the tenure of esteemed critic

Houston Baker, who arrived at Penn in 1974, The Center for the

Study of Black Literature and Culture was the site of a number of

important conferences, lectures, and symposia that pushed the field

Griffin / BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE 167

ahead. In short, the University of Pennsylvania has been at the fore- front of institutionalizing and formalizing the academic study of Black literatures.

In addition to founding and directing the center, Baker, one of the most prolific critics of African American literature, became the first African American president of the prestigious Modern Lan- guage Association in 1992. He was also one of a number of theo- rists who brought the insights of poststructuralist theory to the study of Black literature. Along with Henry Louis Gates, Hortense Spillers, Mae Henderson, and others, Baker not only engaged con- tinental theory but in doing so also helped to develop a theory of Black writing that emerged from the particular histories and cultures of African American peoples.

This generation of critics, now often referred to as the Norton generation because they edited the first Norton Anthology ofAfri- can American Literature (Gates & McKay, 1997), stood at the fore- front of the paradigm shifts that accompanied the institution- alization of Black literary studies during the past 30 years. The first generation to enter elite, predominantly White institutions of higher education produced a cadre of Black intellectuals and aca- demics who were among the first to teach at and receive tenure from these institutions. Critics such as Mary Helen Washington began the important archeological work of locating and republish- ing fiction of Black writers (Gates & McKay, 1997). These scholars sought to establish the tradition and provide a means of critically reading it. This work grew directly out of the mandates of the Black studies movement.

By the late 1970s, some critics began to reject the politically ori- ented paradigms of thinkers of the Black arts movement, such as Amiri Baraka, Larry Neale, and Stephen Henderson, for more formalistic inquiries. Yale professors Robert Stepto and Henry Louis Gates stood at the forefront of this change by encouraging a move away from so-called sociological readings of African Ameri- can literature; they followed Ralph Ellison's earlier call for the same thing. Afro-American Literature: The Reconstruction of Instruction (Stepto, 1979), Black Literature and Literary Theory (Gates & Anozie, 1984), and "Race," Writing, and Difference

168 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 2004

(Gates, 1986) became signature texts in the field. This is not to say that more self-conscious, politically oriented criticism disappeared but instead that these paradigms became dominant and conse- quently served as the vehicles on which a broader array of students and scholars (read: mainstream White or postcolonial) would dis- cover and engage the work of Black writers. Baker's own work was as theoretically sophisticated but never lost its engagement with progressive politics, first that of the Black power movement and later Marxism. Both Gates and Baker sought a culturally specific theory of Black literature (Baker, 1984; Gates, 1988).

Barbara Christian offered the most astute challenge to this turn toward continental theory in her essay "The Race for Theory" (1990) by arguing that in privileging European poststructuralist theory, critics such as Baker and Gates ignored the variety of theo- rizing that has always taken place among Black thinkers and nar- rowed notions of what constituted theory. Christian also argued that this move toward esoteric theorizing was a blatant move away from politics (Washington, 1975, 1980, 1988).'

Christian herself was one of the most important founders of another trend in African American literary studies: Black feminist criticism and theory. Her book Black Women Novelists: The Devel- opment of a Tradition (1980) was the first book-length scholarly treatment of Black women writers and the first to establish a tradi- tion of Black women writing in the United States. By the time of its publication, Black women writers had emerged as a significant force on the American literary scene. In 1969 and 1970, the writers who would become major voices of Black literature for the next three decades, Alice Walker (The Third Life of Grange Copeland), Toni Morrison (The Bluest Eye), Maya Angelou (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings), Toni Cade Bambara (The Black Woman), all published major first books. Paule Marshall, whose first novel, Brown Girl Brownstones, was published in 1959, also published her long-awaited masterpiece, The Chosen Place, The Timeless People, in 1969 as well. Morrison and Walker were not only among the most significant American novelists of the late 20th century, they were also influential literary critics in their own right (Walker, 1983; Morrison, 1992). The decade of the 1970s witnessed more

Griffin / BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE 169

publications by all of these writers, as well as newer artists such as

Gayle Jones, Ntozake Shange, and others. Characterized by strik-

ing, complicated, nonlinear narratives, beautiful, rich, sensuous

language, and unconventional Black women characters, this new fiction responded to and critiqued canonical Black male writers such as Wright, Ellison, and Baldwin, as well as the male-centered

politics of the Black power and Black arts movements out of which most of the women emerged (Baker, 1987; Christian, 1990; Gates, 1987; Joyce, 1987a, 1987b).2

As works by these writers moved into the academy, they required new kinds of literary history, criticism, and theory. Although Christian, Alice Walker, and Mary Helen Washington helped to establish the tradition, they also resurrected the works of

early writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Nella Larsen, Ann Petry, and Jessie Faucet. Critics of Black women's writings not only engaged and challenged male critics, but they also initiated a dia-

logue and debate with White feminist critics. Barbara Smith (1977), Deborah McDowell (1985; 1995); see also Dubey, 1994), Valerie Smith (1998), Mae Gwendolyn Henderson (1992), Ann du Cille (1996, 1997), Hazel Carby (1987), and Hortense Spillers (2003) began to theorize at the nexus of race and gender and in so doing helped to develop one of the most exciting turns in Black lit-

erary study: Black feminist criticism and theory (Carby, 1987; Du Cille, 1986, 1987; Henderson, 1992; McDowell, 1986, 1995; B. Smith, 1977; V. Smith, 1998).3

As the works of older writers became available, and as younger writers came of age not only reading republished works but also reading and being shaped by writers such as Morrison, still more excellent works by Black women were published. Among these are works by Gloria Naylor, Jamaica Kincaid (who has not situated herself as responding to earlier Black women writers), Edwidge Danticat, A. J. Verdelle, and Sapphire.

The critical success of these writers and the growing number of their readers helped to lay the foundation for another astonishing trend of the last 30 years: the rise in Black commercial fiction, espe- cially that written by women. Most attribute this to the success of

Terry McMillan's third novel, Waiting to Exhale (1992), which

170 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 2004

spent 24 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List and sold

nearly 4 million copies. McMillan helped to identify a powerful market in Black women readers (see http://voices.cla.umn.edu/ newsite/authors/MCMILLANterry.htm). McMillan's success

exposed publishers to the large body of Black readers hungry for commercial fiction. According to the American Booksellers Asso- ciation, of the 9.9 million Black adult book buyers, more than 75% are women (Dodson, 2002).

Many factors contribute to the increase in the number of African American book buyers. Not the least of these is the expansion of the Black middle class since the civil rights movement. This emerging class has greater resources, more disposable income, and a thirst for middlebrow images of themselves in literature, film, and the visual arts. It is estimated that they spend $400 million annually on books. At the same time, we have a rise in the number of Black bookstores. Such stores are more likely to keep books on the shelves long after the larger chains, such as Barnes and Noble, have taken them off. The last decade has also witnessed a rise in Black book clubs across the country, as well as the appearance of at least two publications devoted to Black books-the Quarterly Review of Black Literature and Black Issues Book Review. (Magazines such as Ebony and Essence now devote three or four pages per issue to new releases by Black authors.) Finally, five major publishers have introduced Black imprints: One World at Random House, Amistad at HarperCollins, Dafina at Kensington, Harlem Moon at Double-

day, and Strivers Row at Villard (Arnold, 2000). In spite of this tremendous growth, Black people are not fully

represented in the business end of the book industry. There is still a dearth of Black literary agents, editors, marketing personnel, sales

representatives, publicists, and buyers for chain stores. According to the Association of American Publishers, in 1999, only 2.4% of editorial employees were Black (Dodson, 2002). So although quantity and diversity of Black fiction has exploded in the last 20

years, the same cannot be said of those who make editorial and mar-

keting decisions. This is where the real danger exists for the future of Black literary culture. It is not that the next E. Lynn Harris com-

pletes his book at the same time that the future Colson Whitehead

Griffin / BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE 171

does; it is that someone in a position of power might decide to pub- lish the former and not the latter, might decide to put marketing resources behind the former and not the latter.

Many believe the literary quality and the political and social vision of Black fiction suffers with the rise of Black commercial fiction. Large conferences on Black writing, such as the annual Celebration of Black Writing here in Philadelphia, formerly focused on the artist's responsibility and the politics and craft of Black writ-

ing; now the most well-attended sessions focus on getting an agent or a book contract. Unfortunately, a number of aspiring writers believe their books will pave the way to wealth. And although Black bookstores used to be places where you could purchase works by classic writers such as Douglass, Toomer, Wright, and Baldwin, as well as the latest collection of political essays, these

days they are more likely to sell a bevy of self-help books, popular romances, and sentimental greeting cards. Although these trends are disappointing, I do not think we should romanticize the earlier

days. There were a lot of bad poems read at the more politically informed meetings, just as there are pages of awful prose at the more contemporary gatherings. However, even I long for the days when the most highly visible and widely read Black writers cared as much about craft as they did sales (in some cases more so) and saw themselves as part of a politically engaged literary tradition. These writers did not exist in a vacuum; they emerged from major social movements or within a politically charged context.

However, I am not entirely dismayed by the rise of commercial Black fiction. Some people who might never have read a book will read one now. One might be encouraged to buy the Prada purse of their favorite heroine, whereas another might pick up a book by Marshall, Morrison, or Mullen if it is shelved next to McMillan

(Rosalyn or Terry). Romance novels, mysteries, speculative fiction, historical fic-

tion, nonfiction essays, memoirs, letters, biographies, poetry, experimental writing, spoken word; self-published, Internet pub- lished, commercial houses-the more the better, not one at the

expense of the other, but bring them all. There are readers for all of them, and sometimes they are the same people.

172 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 2004

Thirty years ago, throughout the 1970s, less than 3 miles away from the University of Pennsylvania, I grew up in a black working- class/working-poor neighborhood. I grew up reading books by Black authors, not in school, but after school, during the summer, in

library clubs, in my room while on punishment, and, most impor- tant, in the street. We passed around paperbacks, handed them from one girl to the next. We read Louise Merriwether's Daddy Was a Number Runner, books by Iceberg Slim, Nathan Heard's Howard Street, and Samuel Yette's The Choice. We also read Morrison's Sula, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and Richard Wright's Black Boy. We did not only read these books; we

spent summer afternoons on the steps discussing them as we lis- tened to music by War, Minnie Ripperton, Stevie Wonder, New Birth (remember Wildflower?), and Rufus. We practiced our own Black girl brand of literary criticism. Of Sula, "How could she

sleep with her best friend's husband?" Of course we dog-eared all the sex parts and read attentively the stories of rape and abuse because it legitimated things some of us knew all too well. But mostly, as young girls do, we dreamed. The books we read facili- tated our dreams, gave us visions, sparked our imagination.

Perhaps this is the greatest gift of the reading we did. It encour-

aged the imagination. In his recent book, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (2002), Robin Kelley reminds us of the

importance of imagining a radically different future and engaging in struggles to bring those visions into being. Black writing at its best has allowed us to imagine a past unrecorded in the history books, not a romanticized or glorified past, but a more complicated one-Maryse Conde's masterful Segu (1987) is one example-and a future, such as those imagined by Samuel Delaney or Octavia Butler, worth struggling for or struggling against.

NOTES

1. The Schomburg Library of 19th Century Black Women Writers, under the general edi-

torship of Henry Louis Gates and Nellie McKay (1988), republished more 50 works by 19th-

century African American women. Each work was preceded by a lengthy essay by a major female critic.

Griffin / BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE 173

2. Joyce Ann Joyce initiated her own critique of Baker and Gates in 1987 and in so doing solicited one of the nastiest debates in the history of African American literature.

3. Deborah McDowell wrote astute introductions to new publications of works by Nella Larsen.

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Farah Jasmine Griffin is director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies andprofessor ofEnglish and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York. She is author ofWho Set You Flowin': The African American Migration Narrative (Oxford, 1995) and If You Can't Be Free, Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie

Holiday (Free Press, 2001). She is also the editor of Beloved Sisters and Loving Friends: Letters From Addie Brown and Rebecca Primus (Knopf 1999) and coeditor with Cheryl Fish of Stranger in the Village: Two Centuries of African American Travel Writing Beacon, 1998). Her essays and articles have appeared in a number of publications, including Callaloo, The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, the Phila-

delphia Inquirer, and Miles Davis and American culture. Professor Griffin received her bachelor's degree from Harvard University and her doctorate in American Stud- ies from Yale University. Her most recent book, Uptown Conversation: The New Jazz

Studies, a collection of essays edited with Robert O'Meally and Brent Hayes Edwards, was published by Columbia University Press in 2004. She is originally from Philadelphia but now resides in New York.