Shadow archives : the lifecycles of African American literature /
Jean-Christophe Cloutier.
- New York : Columbia University Press, (c)2019.
- 1 online resource
Includes bibliographies and index.
Introduction: "not like an arrow, but a boomerang," or the lifecycles of twentieth century African American literary papers -- Black special collections and the midcentury rise of the institutional collector -- Claude McKay's archival rebirth : provenance and politics in Amiable with Big Teeth -- "At once both document and symbol": Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and the Lafargue Clinic Photographic Archive -- An interlude concerning the vanishing manuscripts of Ann Petry -- "Too obscure for learned classification": comic books, counterculture, and archival invisibility in Invisible Man -- Coda. disappointed bridges : a note on the discovery of Amiable with Big Teeth.
Shadow Archives brings to life a slew of newly discovered texts to tell the stories of black special collections and their struggle for institutional recognition. Jean-Christophe Cloutier offers revelatory readings of major African American writers and provides a nuanced view of how archives shape literary history.
9780231550246
2019011302
American literature--African American authors--History and critcism. American literature--Information resources.--20th century American literature--Research--Methodology.--20th century African Americans--Intellectual life--20th century.