Argues that what lies behind the neglect of black American literature is not a supportable body of critical criteria, but a refusal to believe that blacks possess the humanity requisite for the production of works of art. (Author/JM)

Argues that the black aesthetic can be affirmed while also insisting that its affirmation cannot be achieved or denied by mere a priori assumptions, polemics, personalisms, and vague generalities--its affirmation must be based in and validated by the tradition--historical, cultural, and socio-political--of Afro American expression, it is stated.…

In this overview of the past decade of Black writing, the work of major Black novelists and poets is described and placed in historical perspective. The development of Black idioms and the Black imagination is discussed. (WI)

Charts the evolution of the black voice in American literature into a self-sufficient, independent literary language. (GW)

Toni Cade Bambara's novel "The Salt Eaters" is art colored by social responsibility as the author attempts to give her African-American audience a sense of their history and their identity so they can value and accept collective work and responsibility. The novel's strengths and thematic weaknesses are discussed. (SLD)

A study of relationships between folklore and American literary theory is presented. The underlying commitment of all the figures and groups represented is based on sophisticated insights into the nature of language, literature, social structure, and political philosophy; and in a contemporary context, the traditions discussed illuminate the…

From colonial days onward, colloquial speech was looked down on as inappropriate for serious writing, but with the publication of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," American colloquial style was raised to the level of high art. English teachers should encourage students to build on their own colloquial speech in their writing, rather…