Overview
This retro volume combines two brilliant and long out-of-print books, Dan Burley's Original Handbook of Harlem Jive (1944) and Diggeth Thou? (1959) by Dan Burley, with an introduction by Thomas Aiello. Burley was a journalist and sportswriter who worked for various African American newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Defender, Chicago Crusader, New York New Amsterdam News, Jet, and Ebony in both Chicago and New York in the 1920s through the 1950s. Although he did not invent jive, throughout the 1940s Burley's Handbook fostered it, popularized it, and broadened its use beyond the cloister of the jazz community. Jive acted as an invisible conduit between the new urban linguistics and the inevitably square world. Burley's goal was to inform readers about this new language, as well as to entertain. Dan Burley's Original Handbook of Harlem Jive offers a history of and definition for jive, followed by examples of folktales, poetry, and Shakespeare ""translated"" into jive. The work also includes a jive glossary for easy reference. Burley followed up the success of the Handbook with Diggeth Thou?, which includes more stories told in jive. These rare books sparkle with wit and humor and offer a flashback to the world of New York's and Chicago's hepcats and chicks. Aiello's work will allow Burley's fascinating take on jive to reach a new generation of readers and scholars.
Full Product Details
Author: Thomas Aiello
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Imprint: Northern Illinois University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 14.00cm
, Height: 1.50cm
, Length: 21.60cm
Weight: 0.454kg
ISBN: 9780875806235
ISBN 10: 0875806236
Pages: 220
Publication Date: 15 September 2009
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
<p> This book is a gem, and its reprinting highlights the contributions of one of the most creative and socially-conscious wordsmiths in American history. --H. Samy Alim, UCLA, author of Roc the Mic Right: The Language of Hip Hop Culture <p> By making this material available, readers will have a strong guide to understanding references to this language in a variety of media. --Steven C. Tracy, University of Massachusetts
This book is a gem, and its reprinting highlights the contributions of one of the most creative and socially-conscious wordsmiths in American history. -H. Samy Alim, UCLA, author of Roc the Mic Right: The Language of Hip Hop Culture By making this material available, readers will have a strong guide to understanding references to this language in a variety of media. -Steven C. Tracy, University of Massachusetts
Author Information
Thomas Aiello is a visiting professor of history at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
