Nine Black Women: An Anthology of Nineteenth-Century Writers from the United States, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean

by Moira Ferguson

Overview

This is the first anthology to bring together the writings of the earliest black women writers in the East and West Caribbean, Bermuda, Canada, the US and England. The selections span the American Revolution to the decade following the Civil War. The nine writers included, both slave and free, represent a variety of genres, regions, professions, and political perspectives. Their words suggest the rich cultural history embedded in the writings, and provide a glimpse into the lives of women coping with extreme racism and sexism. As black women, survival guides the construction of their texts and their public images. Each employs diverse strategies of resistance, evasion, displacement, omission and accommodation. With an introduction that contains copious biographical details about each writer and a brief chronology preceding each text, Nine Black Women is a unique collection of original works.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134720095
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/22/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Moira Ferguson is the James E. Ryan Chair in English and Women's Literature at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Table of Contents

Introduction The Hart Sisters Introduction 1 Elizabeth Hart Thwaites (1771-1833) Biographical Narrative Chronology From History of Methodism Hymns Weary world, when will it end O Thou whose ear attends the softest prayer! Poem On the Death of the Rev. Mr. Cook Letter to a Friend Excerpts from Correspondence with a Cousin, Miss Lynch 2 Anne Hart Gilbert (1768-1834) Biographical Narrative Chronology From History of Methodism From Memoir of John Gilbert 3 Mary Prince (ca. 1788-after 1833) Introduction Biographical Narrative Chronology From The History of Mary Prince 4 Mary Jane Grant Seacole (1805-1881) Introduction Biographical Narrative Chronology From Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands 5 Harriet Ann Jacobs (1813-1897) Introduction Biographical Narrative Chronology From Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 6 Harriet E. Adams Wilson (1824 or 1828-1868/1870?) Introduction Biographical Narrative Chronology From Our Nig; or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, in a Two-Story White House 7 Jarena Lee (1783-after 1849) Introduction Biographical Narrative Chronology From Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee 8 Nancy Gardner Prince (1799-?) Introduction Biographical Narrative Chronology From A Narrative of the Life and Travels of Mrs. Nancy Prince 9 Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893) Introduction Biographical Narrative Chronology Personal Letter To Professor G. Whipple Editorials form the Provincial Freeman Anti-Slavery Relations The Humbug of Reform A Bazaar in Toronto for Frederick Douglass's Paper, &c. The Emigration Convention Intemperance The Presidential Election in the United States A Good Boarding House Greatly Needed by the Colored Citizens Obstacles to the Progress of Colored Canadians Sermon Open Letter or Circular from the Vigilance Committee Open Letter to the Anglo-African Notes; Selected Bibliography; Index

Editorial Reviews

"Nine Black Women, Moira Ferguson's fascinating and informative documentation of the literary and political activities of nineteenth-century African American, Canadian, Bermudian, and Caribbean women, is a splendid addition to the library of works now recognizing the lives and voices of women of the African diaspora. A combination of biography, personal testimony, and social history, the breadth of this study opens up new perspectives on how we understand that whether they knew, or knew of each other or not, earlier black women have always engaged each other in powerful dialogue across time and space. Nine Black Women will find great significance and usefulness in a wide array of classrooms as well as in continuing efforts to excavate a complex past that rejects our marginalization and forgetfulness." — Nellie Y. McKay, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"Nine Black Women is an important anthology that will greatly facilitate our study and teaching of nineteenth-century black women's writing. The selections offer us intimate—and at times poignant—glimpses into the personal lives of nine black women; but they also invite us to examine the political dimensions of the women's more public cultural, religious, and social experiences. Finally, in bringing together texts by black women from different regions in the Americas, the volume gives us a significantly new gendered account of the making of the black Atlantic." — Carla L. Peterson, University of Maryland, College Park

From the Publisher