The four writers chosen for this study, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, John Edgar Wideman, and Ernest Gaines, were chosen because of their shared approach to "rewriting" such negative narratives of black manhood. Each of these writers approaches self-definition and, more specifically, the writing of oneself as a "man" as contingent on controlling discourse -- having some power over language -- and thus having the power to define the self. And each of the selected works explores the possibilities of black manhoods that are humane and dignified. The discursive negotiations involved in rewriting identity pose an extremely complex set of challenges associated with the realm of definition used to control the powerful signifier, "manhood." -- From introduction.

Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940) is one of the most violent and revolutionary works in the American canon. Controversial and compelling, its account of crime and racism remain the source of profound disagreement both within African-American culture and throughout the world. This guide to Wright's provocative novel offers: an accessible introduction to the text and contexts of Native Son a critical history, surveying the many interpretations of the text from publication to the present a selection of reprinted critical essays on Native Son, by James Baldwin, Hazel Rowley, Antony Dawahare, Claire Eby and James Smethurst, providing a range of perspectives on the novel and extending the coverage of key critical approaches identified in the survey section a chronology to help place the novel in its historical context suggestions for further reading. Part of the Routledge Guides to Literature series, this volume is essential reading for all those beginning detailed study of Native Son and seeking not only a guide to the novel, but a way through the wealth of contextual and critical material that surrounds Wright's text.

Richard Wright is one of the greatest African-American writers of the 20th century. His masterpiece Native Son is analyzed in this volume of essays.

For much of the twentieth century, France recruited colonial subjects from sub-Saharan Africa to serve in its military, sending West African soldiers to fight its battles in Europe, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. In this exemplary contribution to the “new imperial history,” Gregory Mann argues that this shared military experience between France and Africa was fundamental not only to their colonial relationship but also to the reconfiguration of that relationship in the postcolonial era. Mann explains that in the early twenty-first century, among Africans in France and Africa, and particularly in Mali—where Mann conducted his research—the belief that France has not adequately recognized and compensated the African veterans of its wars is widely held and frequently invoked. It continues to animate the political relationship between France and Africa, especially debates about African immigration to France. Focusing on the period between World War I and 1968, Mann draws on archival research and extensive interviews with surviving Malian veterans of French wars to explore the experiences of the African soldiers. He describes the effects their long absences and infrequent homecomings had on these men and their communities, he considers the veterans’ status within contemporary Malian society, and he examines their efforts to claim recognition and pensions from France. Mann contends that Mali is as much a postslavery society as it is a postcolonial one, and that specific ideas about reciprocity, mutual obligation, and uneven exchange that had developed during the era of slavery remain influential today, informing Malians’ conviction that France owes them a “blood debt” for the military service of African soldiers in French wars.

This is the second volume of memoir by this remarkable Maori writer and of the living myths that inspired him at the beginning of his career. Look at him, the young man on the cover. The year is 1972, he is 28, his first book is about to be published, and he has every reason to kick up his heels. But behind that joyful smile, and the image of a writer footing it in the Pakeha world, there is another narrative, one that Witi has not told before. The story of a native son, struggling to find a place, a voice and an identity, and to put a secret past to rest. This sequel to his award-winning memoir picks up where Maori Boy stopped, following Witi through his triumphs and failures at school and university, to experimenting sexually, searching for love and purpose and to becoming our first Maori novelist. It continues in the same vein as the first volume, which was described by a reviewer as ‘a rich, powerful, multi-layered and totally unique story . . . something every New Zealander should read’.

An Afro-Americanist, Ana M Fraile currently teaches postcolonial literatures at the University of Salamanca, Spain. Her more recent publications include the book Planteamientos esteticos y politicos en la obra de Zora Neale Hurston (2003); chapters about Zora Neale Hurston, Gayl Jones, Alice Walker and Joy Kogawa in the Rodopi series Perspectives on Modern Literature, edited by Michael Meyer; and journal articles on African American women writers such as Toni Morrison. She is also the editor of bilingual (English/ Spanish) editions on the works of Jacob A. Riis, Como vive la otra mitad, Langston Hughes, Oscuridad en Espana, and Zora Neale Hurston, Mi gente Mi gente , and the co-editor of The Impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms(1982-2002): European Perspectives. She has been the recepient of numerous grants and scholarships, among which are the Fulbright research grant, and several scholarships granted by the Canadian Government in the framework of the Foreign Affairs Faculty Enrichment Program.