Reviews the poetry of Derek Walcott, a native of the West Indies, whose new volume 'Another Life' more resembles the poet-artists commentary on a gallery of scenes and portraits in Melvin Tolson's 'The Harlem Gallery' than anything else that has come from the English speaking Caribbean in the post-war period. (Author/JM)

Suggests that the assumption that the theme of anti-rationalism in Jones is an attack on reason as such and that such a theme rests on an exclusive commitment to the irrational needs to be tested. (Author/AM)

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)

Reviews John Wideman's three novels--'A Glance Away; 'Hurry Home', and 'The Lynchers' noting that although there are distinctly realistic elements in them the preponderant formal qualities are lyrical, surrealistic and expressionistic--including experimentation with journals and letters. (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.…

Noting that his book, "Understanding the New Black Poetry" (Morrow 1973), attempted to sketch a critical framework which would help make the poetry accessible to a larger number of people, the author examines some questions raised there which need some systematic response. (Author/JM)

Analyzes the novel "Not Without Laughter" and suggests the image of the home to be a unifying theme. (AM)

A young Chicago poet explores the black literary scene and exposes new vistas of understanding and possibility. (DM)

"Dust Tracks on a Road," author Zora Neale Hurston's autobiography, is not a typical black autobiography. Hurston is a complex woman and author who addresses both black and white audiences, shifting the cadences of her voice to invoke a readership that can hear the textures of many voices and respond to an underlying call to a world…

A discussion of the black autobiography as a unique literary genre, highlighting Gwen Brooks'"Report From Part One," as indicative of such an autobiography which goes beyond customary literary traditions in its conception of the artist as an activist. (EH)

An analysis of the factors responsible for the popularity of the Jesse B. Semple tales of Langston Hughes: the appeal of the skit technique, the simplicity in the development of theme and character, reader identification, and the intermittent sound of the blues in prose. (EH)

Those Africans brought over to the Western Hemisphere left a strong impression on culture and language of Spanish colonizers. This effect has been exemplified in the religion, music, dance, and food of the republics of the Caribbean. (Author/RJ)

A young poet writes in support of black critics for black literature. Present problems in and criteria for black literary criticism are included. (DM)

Discusses the 1971 Lincoln Center production of "The Duplex", focusing on and refuting Walter Kerr's critical review of that play; Kerr is shown unable or unwilling to accept Bullins' successful use of certain structural innovations--the same ones that he raves about in non-black drama. (Author/JM)