Annotated Bibliography

Writing Style and Tone of

African-American Women’s- Literature from the 19th Century to the Present

Tamara Tompkins

 

 

 

1) Berlant, Lauren. “Cultural Struggle and Literary History: African-American Women’s Writing.” Modern Philosophy (August 1990): 57-64 [MLA bibliography/First             Search]

Writer Lauren Berlant examines two books, Reconstructing Womanhood and Specifying, in which both books analyze the meaning and beginnings of African-American women’s writing. Reconstructing Womanhood by Hazel Carby examines the first century writing of African-American women, concluding that African-American women’s writings are derived form self-reflection in America, including tensions among race, gender, and class identities. Specifying by Susan Willis examines the second century of African-American women’s writings, in which Willis begins her research from the transition of African-Americans from rural communities to urbanized neighborhoods. Willis concludes that African-American women’s writings are meant to transform how societies’ minds understand American history, and how not only African-Americans were affected, but how Americans in general were affected. Berlant concludes that both books were made to explain the concept behind African-American women’s writings, but Reconstructing Womanhood examines friction, politics, and prejudice, while Specifying focuses on the history of the black women in America. (149 words)

 

 

2) Moody, Jocelyn. “Spiritual Interrogations: Culture, Gender, and Community in Early African American Women’s Writing. (We Are Coming: The Persuasive Discourse of Nineteenth-Century Black Women).” Signs, Spring 2002 v27 i3:             923-926 [Infotrac]

Jocelyn Moody’s article takes a more in-depth look into two books written about African-American women’s writings during the 18th and 19th centuries focusing on the force behind their writings. Spiritual Interrogations: Culture, Gender, and Community in Early African American Women’s Writing by Katherine Clay Bassard compares but distinguishes African-American women’s writings by their experiences and based on their social titles as teacher, poet, political advocate, and religious/spiritual leader. We Are Coming by Shirley Logan focuses merely on the spirituality of the black woman. Literary pieces in which Logan focuses on are speeches, essays, editorials, and open letters addressed to what Logan calls “unsympathetic” audiences. Logan comes to conclude that both Moody and Logan “demonstrate that the area of black women’s studies is already far broader and richer that many may realize. (131 words)

 

3) Osaki, Lillian Temu. “Madness in black women’s writing. Reflections from four texts:             a question of power, the joys of Motherhood, Anowa, and possessing the secret of         joy.” Ahfad Journal, June 2002 v19: 4-17 [Infotrac]

Lillian Temu Osaki attempts to define “madness” in relation to African and African-American women through their literature. She examines four texts: “A Question of Power”, “The Joys of Motherhood”, “Anowa”, and “Possessing the Secret of Joy”. From those books, Osaki produces what she believes to be the forces behind the “madness. Some forces Osaki believe “madness” to come from would include failure to cope with reality, male domination over the female, the impossibilities of adjusting to the inhumane situations of society, and mental anguish. Osaki concludes that “madness” is a recurring theme of African and African-American women’s writings, but due to historical and cultural differences, “madness” can be defined many different ways. In conclusion, Osaki adopts Lillian Feder’s definition of “madness” by defining it as “a state in which unconscious processes predominate over conscious ones to the extent that they control then and determine perceptions of and responses to experience that, judged by prevailing standards of logical thought and relevant emotion, are confused and inappropriate.” (165 words)

 

 

4) Evans, Mari, ed. Black Women Writers. London and Sydney: Pluto Press/ Pluto Press         Australia Limited, 1985. [Infotrac]

The book Black Women Writers praises literary pieces, widely recognized by the public and written by African-American women. This book focuses on writings of African-American women during the 20th century, which was a time in which African-Americans fought for freedom, justice, equality, and literary acceptance. African-American women authors recognized in this book include such acclaimed writers as Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker, just to name a few. Stephen E. Henderson, Ph.D., who wrote the introduction, writes that “…Black women…have always been involved in the generation and sustenance of our literature and…culture in general.” He later goes on to say that Black women “have enriched and expanded the international corpus of black literature.” In conclusion, Henderson says, “Black women have bought into the literature a special knowledge of their lives and experiences” to share with everyone, which is an important reason that Black women write. (150 words)

 

 

 

 

 

5) Johnson, Yvonne. The Voices of African-American Women-The Use of Narrative

and Authorial Voice in the Works of Harriet Jacobs, Zora Neal Hurston, and Alice Walker. New York: Peter Lang, 1998. [Infotrac]

In Yvonne Johnson’s book, The Voices of African American Women, she reviews the different “voices” in which African-American women use their literature. Some of the voices used by African-American women in their literature are meant to tell a story, make a point, and to inform. Johnson writes that history pertaining to African-American women have been ignored and neglected for several centuries, but through their writings, vivid pictures and thoughts enter through minds of the unknowing. Johnson examines three works by authors Zora Neal Hurston, Harriet Jacobs, and Alice Walker, in which all have different “voices”, but a common theme. Johnson goes on to say that African-American women’s literature is so powerful because the African-American woman’s voice was “repressed and oppressed by racism and sexism… While many of the 20th century African-American female writers have common themes in their literature, Johnson writes, “…it is difficult, if not impossible, to separate the textual affinities…from the sexual and racial oppression that inspired them,” in which the “voice” of African-American women’s literature derives. (169 words)

 

6) Sievers, Stefanie. Liberating Narratives. Hamburg: LIT, 1999. [Infotrac]

The writer of Liberating Narratives, Stefanie Sievers, wanted to expand on the idea behind the voice in slave-based novels written by African-American women in the 20th century. Sievers begins by stating that “almost always…black cultural tradition, family genealogies, and the impact of historical experiences of slavery and racism” are the focuses of literature written by African-American women because of the importance of those aspects. Sievers also states that the reason behind the popularity of the slave novels if because slavery is a “trauma that still demands our attention today.” Also, Sievers says that looking to the past for subject matter “asserts the importance of a concept of identity within African-American and feminist thinking.” In a whole, Sievers comes up with three explanations behind the purpose of writing slave novels: 1) to present the long-lasting affects of slavery on society, 2) to investigate the intersections of African-American and European forms of cultural expression, and 3) to show the socio-political and cultural developments, due to the literature presented.  (165 words)

 

 

7) Haute, Terre. “The Artistry of Anger: Black and White Women’s Literature in 1820-

            1860.” African American Review, Winter 2002, 682-683. [LION]

In reading “The Artistry of Anger: Black and White Women’s Literature in 1820-1860” by Linda M. Grasso, reviewer Terre Haute focuses on the anger behind the literature of the Black and White woman in the 19th century. Haute goes on to say that anger in a text, whether written by a man or woman, is a tradition in American literature, but during the 19th century, Black and White women had reasons behind their anger. Both races of women were oppressed and barred from any political activity. Through their writings, they made it known that they were angry and justice was deserved. The most popular anger felt by both Black and White women were the issues on slavery and racism, and those basis alone gave Black and White women common ground for being angry. (133 words)

 

 

8) Haute, Terre. “Black Women Writers and the American Neo-Slave Narrative:

            Femininity Unfettered.” African American Review, Spring 2001. 136-138. [LION]

Haute examines the book Black Women Writers and the American Neo-Slave Narrative: Femininity Unfettered by Elizabeth Ann Beaulieu, in which Beaulieu argues that in some neo-slave narratives, the mothers in those stories don’t receive the credit that is due to them, or the whole story isn’t told. Beaulieu would like to see mothers in the narratives be more focused on; the struggles and hardships in which the mothers have to endure are often left out of the neo-slave narratives. In most of the neo-slave narratives written in the 18th and 19th centuries, the mothers are mentioned, but the depth of what these mothers experienced could probably not be explained on paper, but to try to get across to the audience what they experienced would satisfy Beaulieu. Haute does make note that today’s African-American narrative writing does recognize the hardship of the woman in the stories, and how often they overcome those hardships, which gives black women a sense inspiration. (158 words)