Category Archives: slavery

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

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

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

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Seamus Heaney: More Strange Fruit

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 , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Billie Holiday, Abel Meeropol: Black/Jewish Strange Fruit

July 25, 2012 Billie sang it, but the music and lyrics were Abel’s.   He had first written it as a poem, after seeing the photograph of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Indiana on August 7, 1930.   … Continue reading

Posted in adaptation, Black-Jewish alliances, Cities, collaboration, Educational institutions, Ethnicity, Jewish literature, lyric, Media, Music, Newspapers, print medium, Publishers, Race, Racial violence, slavery, Twentieth century literature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

African-Native-American: Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison

February 15, 2012 Langston Hughes. African-American, of course. Yet a not insignificant fact about his biography is that his both his maternal grandparents, Mary Patterson and Charles Henry Langston, were of mixed races: African-American, Native American, and European. Hughes did … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, contemporary poetry, mixed races, Native-American literature, slavery, Twentieth century literature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 65 Comments