Overview

The legacy of the relationship between African American writers and Communism in the US is a contested one. Bergin argues that in three novels, by seminal mid-century authors (Wright, Himes and Ellison) Communism is not dismissed as incapable of meeting the demands of black political identity but is castigated for its refusal to do so. A detailed focus on the political milieu in which these texts operate challenges many of the presumptions about the ‘inability’ of Communism to comprehend racial oppression, which dominate literary critical approaches to these novels. She draws on the complex formations black political agency presumed and reproduced by American Communism during the Depression.

Full Product Details

Author:   Cathy Bergin
Publisher:   Brill
Imprint:   Brill
Volume:   95
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.491kg
ISBN:  

9789004263727

ISBN 10:   9004263721
Pages:   222
Publication Date:   27 May 2015
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: RADICAL ALLIANCES Chapter One: ‘Towards Soviet America’ 1.1 Determinations and determinism: Lenin, Stalin and the Comintern 1.2 Swearing allegiances: Garveyism and Communism 1.3 Trials on trial: Yokine2.1n and Scottsboro Chapter Two: The Liberator (1929–1935) 2.1 The Liberator: the black bourgeoisie and revolutionary tradition 2.2 The Liberator: interracial solidarity and internationalism 2.3 The Liberator: black cultural politics Chapter Three: Native Son: Ghetto Nightmares 3.1 ‘Poor Richard Wright’: the black protest novel 3.2 A room of one’s own?: Bigger, rage and consciousness 3.3 ‘Russian folks’: The Communist Party in Native Son PART II: BETRAYALS AND DEFEAT Chapter Four: ‘Communism is the Twentieth Century Americanism’ 4.1 Popular Front: remaking African American culture 4.2 Peace and war: shifting priorities Chapter five: Lonely Crusade: Union Dues 5.1 ‘History as nightmare’: The critical reception of Lonely Crusade 5.2 ‘This illusion of manhood’: Lee Gordon, rage and impotence 5.3 ‘Sure, I ‘longs to the Party. But I is a nigger first’: the Communist Party in Lonely Crusade Chapter six: Invisible Man: Un-American Activities 6.1 ‘Beautiful absurdity’: Ellison, responsibility and identity 6.2 ‘Riding race again’: the Communist Party in Invisible Man Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Author Information

Cathy Bergin (DPhil (2004) is a Senior Lecturer in the Humanities Programme at the University of Brighton.

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