{"product_id":"martin-luther-king-jr-heroism-and-african-american-literature-paperback","title":"Martin Luther King Jr., Heroism, and African American Literature - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eTrudier Harris\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eExamines how representations of Martin Luther King Jr.'s character and persona in works of African American literature have evolved and reflect the changing values and mores of African American culture\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e African American writers have incorporated Martin Luther King Jr. into their work since he rose to prominence in the mid-1950s. \u003ci\u003eMartin Luther King Jr., Heroism, and African American Literature\u003c\/i\u003e is a study by award-winning author Trudier Harris of King's character and persona as captured and reflected in works of African American literature continue to evolve. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e One of the most revered figures in American history, King stands above most as a hero. His heroism, argues Harris, is informed by African American folk cultural perceptions of heroes. Brer Rabbit, John the Slave, Stackolee, and Railroad Bill--folk heroes all--provide a folk lens through which to view King in contemporary literature. Ambiguities and issues of morality that surround trickster figures also surround King. Nonconformist traits that define Stackolee and Railroad Bill also inform King's life and literary portraits. Defiance of the law, uses of indirection, moral lapses, and bad habits are as much a part of the folk-transmitted biography of King as they are a part of writers' depictions of him in literary texts. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Harris first demonstrates that during the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, when writers such as Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, and LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) were rising stars in African American poetry, King's philosophy of nonviolence was out of step with prevailing notions of militancy (Black Power), and their literature reflected that division. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In the quieter times of the 1970s and 1980s and into the twenty-first century, however, treatments of King and his philosophy in African American literature changed. Writers who initially rejected him and nonviolence became ardent admirers and boosters, particularly in the years following his assassination. By the 1980s, many writers skeptical about King had reevaluated him and began to address him as a fallen hero. To the most recent generation of writers, such as Katori Hall, King is fair game for literary creation, no matter what those portrayals may reveal, to a point where King has become simply another source of reference for creativity. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Collectively these writers, among many others, illustrate that Martin Luther King Jr. provides one of the strongest influences upon the creative worlds of multiple generations of African American writers of varying political and social persuasions.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFormer J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, \u003cb\u003eTrudier Harris\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of English at the University of Alabama. She is the author, editor, or coeditor of twenty-three books, most recently \u003ci\u003eThe Scary Mason-Dixon Line: African American Writers and the South \u003c\/i\u003e(a \u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e Outstanding Academic Title), \u003ci\u003eSouth of Tradition: Essays on African American Literature\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 200\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.71 x 8.9 x 5.91 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 10, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42735752675391,"sku":"9780817360177","price":48.53,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/653a325786dbed365c397a23555fc8b4.webp?v=1765144553","url":"https:\/\/dhl-adrianne.myshopify.com\/products\/martin-luther-king-jr-heroism-and-african-american-literature-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}