Black American Writing From The Nadir: The Evolution Of A Literary Tradition, 18771915,Used

In This Wideranging Study, Dickson D. Bruce. Jr., Analyzes Postreconstruction And Turnofthecentury Black Writing, Treating Minor As Well As Major Authors And Considering A Broad Range Of Genres. Bruce Shows That Black Writers Confronted The Conditions Of An Increasingly Racist Society In Almost Every Aspect Of Their Workfrom Their Choice Of Subject Matter To The Way They Drew Their Characters To The Mood They Portrayed. At The Same Time, These Writers, Most Of Whom Were Members Of A Small But Growing Black Professional Class, Displayed A Concern For Middleclass Aspirations And Values. Bruce Underscores The Significance Of Discerning The Tensions Between These Opposing Forces In Studying The Literature Of The Time.Bruces Attention To The Body Of Work Produced By Minor Writers, Most Of Whom Have Remained Obscure To All But A Few Literary Scholars And Historians, Adds An Important Dimension To Our Understanding Of Africanamerican History And Literature. His Discussion Of Such Betterknown Writers As Charles W. Chesnutt, Paul Laurence Dunbar, James Weldon Johnson, And W. E. B. Du Bois Places Them In A Fuller Literary Context, Defining More Clearly Their Significance As Individuals.Black American Writing From The Nadir Is An Insightful, Wellfocused Work That Will Benefit Social And Cultural Historians As Well As Students Of Literature