Category Archives: African-American literature

Toni Morrison, Slade Morrison: More Children’s Books

Posted on September 12, 2012 by wcd2

September 12, 2012 Toni Morrison also had trouble with publishers. At least she managed to get it in print — The Big Box, the first of several coauthored with her son Slade, first appeared in Ms. Magazine in 1980 and, … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, Children's literature, collaboration, Contemporary novel, Educational institutions, Genre, literary magazaines, Newspapers, print medium, Publishers, Race, Twentieth century literature | Tagged alphabet books, Amazon, Centuries of Childhood, Gertrude Stein, Giselle Potter, Hyperion Books, Jethro Tull, Ms. Magazine, New York Times, Philippe Aries, Slade Morrison, Spice Girls, The Big Box, To Do, Toni Morrison | 1 Comment

Pynchon on the Simpsons, Hughes on the Bootsie cartoons

Posted on August 29, 2012 by wcd2

August 29, 2012 I’m not absolutely sure it is his voice, but most people seem to think it is: “Diatribe of a Mad Housewife,” Season 15 of The Simpsons, aired on Jan 25, 2004. Marge is mad enough to write a … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, collaboration, Contemporary Art, Ethnicity, Graphic Novels, Interdisciplinarity, Media, Modern art, Modernist poetry, print medium, Race, Remediation, Television, twentieth century art, Twentieth century literature, Visual arts, YouTube videos | Tagged " Graphics Classics, "Danse Africaine", "Simple" stories, "The Negro, Afua Richards, All's Fair in Oven War, Bootsie cartoons, Chicago Defender, Daumier, Diatribe of a Mad Housewife, Hogarth, Langston Hughes, Moby-Dick, Ollie Harrington, Stan Shaw, The Simpsons, Thomas Pynchon | 2 Comments

Atlantic Sound: Caryl Phillips, Thomas Pynchon, Richard and Mimi Fariña

Posted on August 22, 2012 by wcd2

August 22, 2012 At the end of The Atlantic Sound, Caryl Phillips is in Israel, visiting a community of Black Hebrews, almost 2000 of them, African-Americans who emigrated from the United States. They have given up their U.S. citizenship, but … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, African-American music, Asia, Atlantic, Black-Jewish alliances, Caribbean literature, collaboration, Creole, Diaspora, Educational institutions, Ethnicity, Mediterranean, Middle East, Music, oceans, peripheral networks, Remediation, slavery, Twentieth century literature, Universities, World history, world literature, YouTube videos | Tagged African diaspora, African-American, Atlantic Sound, Benny Profane, Black Hebrews, Bob Marley, Botticelli, Brazil, Brooklyn, Caryl Phillips, Celebrations for a Grey Day, Israel, Jamaica, Joan Baez, Laurie Anderson, Radiohead, Redemption Song, Richard and Mimi Fariña, Tekiyah, Thomas Pynchon, V, Venus, Vheissu | Leave a comment

Rene Marie and Thomas Pynchon: Dixie/Strange Fruit, Mason & Dixon

Posted on August 15, 2012 by wcd2

August 15, 2012 Thanks to Ron Fritts, I learn this week that Rene Marie also has a version of “Strange Fruit” – a mashup, joint with the Confederate anthem, “Dixie.” Is it meant to be ironic? Marie doesn’t think so. … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, African-American literature, African-American music, Cities, collaboration, Ethnicity, Global South, Music, Race, Racial violence, Remediation, Remix, Science, slavery, World history, YouTube videos | Tagged "Strange Fruit, Cape Town, Charles Mason, Confederacy, Daniel Decatur Emmett, Dixie, Jeremiah Dixon, Knox County, mashup, Mason & Dixon, Mason-Dixon line, Ohio, Rene Marie, Ron Fritts, Snowden family, South Africa, Thomas Pynchon, transit of Venus, Wikipedia | Leave a comment

Seamus Heaney: More Strange Fruit

Posted on August 8, 2012 by wcd2

August 8, 2012 This week I’ve been listening to many versions of “Strange Fruit”: Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, Gil Evans and the Sting. I have to say: I still prefer Billie Holiday. But I had no idea Seamus Heaney also … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, collaboration, Comparative literature, contemporary poetry, Diaspora, Gender, globe, Irish literature, lyric, Modernist poetry, Music, Race, Racial violence, Remediation, Rock music, slavery, Translation, twentieth century art, Twentieth century literature, World history, world literature, YouTube videos | Tagged " Jutland, " Seamus Heaney, "Punishment, "Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday, Denmark, Gil Evans, Jeff Buckley, Nina Simone, North (1975), Northern Ireland, the Sting | 6 Comments

Gore Vidal (1925-2012): 2006 Letter on the Palestinian nation.

Posted on August 1, 2012 by wcd2

August 1, 2012 Gore Vidal’s passing is marked worldwide by a citational frenzy: all those quips, those acidic one-liners, from the past 86 years. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times, all have their favorites; the Guardian … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, Afro-Asian alliances, Arabic, collaboration, Comparative literature, Ethnicity, globe, Islam, Letters, Middle East, Newspapers, Nobel Prize, peripheral networks, print medium, Racial violence, Twentieth century literature, World religions | Tagged 2006 Letter from 18 Authors on the Palestinian Nation, Arundhati Roy, Gaza, Gore Vidal, Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jessica Hagedorn, LA Times, New York Times, the Nation magazine, Toni Morrison, Washington Post, West Bank | 7 Comments

Richard Wright, Count Basie, Paul Robeson: Collaboration that Happened and Collaboration that Didn’t

Posted on July 18, 2012 by wcd2

July 18, 2012 Richard Wright had always liked boxing, but what intrigued him most of all was probably the personality of Joe Louis – “King Joe” – the world heavyweight boxing champion for more than 11 years, defending his title … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, African-American literature, Afro-Asian alliances, Asia, Cities, collaboration, Ethnicity, Global South, Interdisciplinarity, jazz, lyric, macro politics, Media, Music, Newspapers, peripheral networks, planet, Sports, Twentieth century literature, world literature | Tagged " FDR, "King Joe, Adam Clayton Powerll, Bandung Conference, boxing, Count Basie, Daily Worker, Ganges, Hitler, Joe Louis, Max Baer, Max Schmeling, Nazism, Niger, Nile, Okeh Records, Paul Robeson, Richard Wright, State Department, Yangtze, Yankee Stadium | 2 Comments

Street Scene: Langston Hughes, Kurt Weill, Elmer Rice

Posted on July 11, 2012 by wcd2

July 11, 2012 It started out as a play by Elmer Rice: a Broadway run of 601 shows, the Pulitzer Prize in 1929, the movie in 1931. Kurt Weill saw it in Berlin, both the play and the film, and … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, African-American literature, Arts communities, Broadway plays, Cities, collaboration, Dance, Ethnicity, film medium, Interdisciplinarity, jazz, lyric, Media, Modernist poetry, Music, Remediation, Theater, Twentieth century literature, world literature, YouTube videos | Tagged " Anna Sokolow, " Life Magazine, "Lonely House, "Moon-faced, Abbey Lincoln, Berlin, blues, Broadway, Elmer Rice, Harlem, jazz, Kurt Weill, Langston Hughes, Musical Digest, Pultizer Prize, Starry-Eyed, Street Scene | 9 Comments

Spanish Civil War: Hughes and Hemingway

Posted on July 4, 2012 by wcd2

July 4, 2012 The Beinecke Library doesn’t have a great Hemingway Collection (most of his material is at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston), but I did find a rare photo, taken in Madrid in 1937, Hemingway with Langston Hughes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, African-American literature, Arabic, Caribbean literature, collaboration, Cuba, Cuban poetry, Ethnicity, Global South, Islam, Latin America, Letters, Libraries, Modernist poetry, Newspapers, peripheral networks, Spanish, Translation, Twentieth century literature, world literature | Tagged Baltimore Afro-American, Beinecke Library, Cuba Libre, Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bells Tolls, General Franco's Moors, Gypsies, Havana, JFK Presidential Library, Langston Hughes, Michael Koltyov, Moors, Nicolas Guillen, Oklahoma, Spanish Civil War | 2 Comments

Black Pittsburgh

Posted on May 2, 2012 by wcd2

May 2, 2012 I’ve been here before, but it hit me again this time, coming into the city at night. This has got to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The river and the bridges all lit up — there are … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, African-American literature, Arabic, Arts communities, collaboration, Contemporary Art, Educational institutions, Ethnicity, Islam, jazz, Media, Music, peripheral networks, Theater, twentieth century art, Twentieth century literature, Visual arts, world literature, World religions | Tagged Abdullan Ibn, Billy Strayhorn, Brenda Buxton, bridges, Buhaina, Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, Fate Marable, Hill Distict, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Mary Lou Wiliams, Nation of Islam, New Orleans, Paris, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Cycle, riverboats, Romare Beaden, Stanley Theater, The Piano Lesson, West Afraica | 21 Comments