Yakovenko I.V.The poet as literary critic: Elizabeth Alexander on African American heritage

Yakovenko, Iryna (2019) Yakovenko I.V.The poet as literary critic: Elizabeth Alexander on African American heritage Наукові записки Харківського національного педагогічного університету імені Г.С. Сковороди. Серія: Літературознавство (1-2). pp. 180-191. ISSN 2312-1068

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Abstract

In the article we analyze Elizabeth Alexander’s book of critical essays «The Power and Possibility» (2007), investigating the poet’s views on art and culture, race and identity. The methodological toolkit of the research is Black/African American studies. The publication focuses on Elizabeth Alexander’s reception of canonical African American literary figures: Paul Laurence Dunbar, Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, June Jordan, Rita Dove, and investigates the poet’s reflections on the concepts of race, black female role in the society, a sense of an African American poetics, various forms of black art, and the history of African American culture. The emphasis is made on the key themes of Alexander’s essay collections: African American identity, racism, black feminism, black creativity, Black Arts aesthetics in the literary production of African American artists. It is concluded that Elizabeth Alexander breaks new ground while writing on Langston Hughes not only as a canon maker of African American literature but also as an anthologizer. In her essay collection, she defines the current challenges for feminist and African American studies. Elizabeth Alexander widely employs the trope of collage in her writings about historical and cultural contexts of the twentieth-century African American literature, – the technique, which is allied to the quilt metaphor and jazz improvisation. Alexander’s personal experience and family history serve as a framing pattern for the essays.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: literary criticism; African American literature; Black/African American studies; Elizabeth Alexander.
Subjects: Це архівна тематика Київського університету імені Бориса Грінченка > Статті у журналах > Фахові (входять до переліку фахових, затверджений МОН)
Divisions: Це архівні підрозділи Київського університету імені Бориса Грінченка > Кафедра англійської філології та перекладу
Depositing User: Ірина Василівна Яковенко
Date Deposited: 27 Nov 2019 07:56
Last Modified: 27 Nov 2019 07:56
URI: https://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/id/eprint/28896

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