The Politics of Richard Wright: Perspectives on Resistance

by Jane Anna Gordon (Editor), Cyrus Ernesto Zirakzadeh (Editor)

Overview

A pillar of African American literature, Richard Wright is one of the most celebrated and controversial authors in American history. His work championed intellectual freedom amid social and political chaos. Despite the popular and critical success of books such as Uncle Tom's Children (1938), Black Boy (1945), and Native Son (1941), Wright faced staunch criticism and even censorship throughout his career for the graphic sexuality, intense violence, and communist themes in his work. Yet, many political theorists have ignored his radical ideas.

In The Politics of Richard Wright, an interdisciplinary group of scholars embraces the controversies surrounding Wright as a public intellectual and author. Several contributors explore how the writer mixed fact and fiction to capture the empirical and emotional reality of living as a black person in a racist world. Others examine the role of gender in Wright's canonical and lesser-known writing and the implications of black male vulnerability. They also discuss the topics of black subjectivity, internationalism and diaspora, and the legacy of and responses to slavery in America.

Wright's contributions to American political thought remain vital and relevant today. The Politics of Richard Wright is an indispensable resource for students of American literature, culture, and politics who strive to interpret this influential writer's life and legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813179599
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	06/23/2020
Pages:	386
Sales rank:	678,543
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jane Anna Gordon is associate professor of political science at the University of Connecticut and former president of the Caribbean Philosophical Association (2013-2016). She is author or editor of several books, including Creolizing Political Theory and Statelessness and Contemporary Enslavement. Cyrus Ernesto Zirakzadeh is professor of political science at the University of Connecticut and former editor of the journal Polity. He has authored or edited several books, among them Social Movements in Politics, as well as scholarly articles on John Steinbeck and Norman Mailer.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
Part 1: Radical Politics
2. I Have Seen Black Hands
3. Wright's Afromodern Search for Political Freedom
4. Richard Wright and the Critique of Class Theory
5. Alternative Readings of Bigger Thomas
6. Richard Wright's Mission: Initiating a Politics of the Human
Part 2: Sexuality and Gender
7. Richard Wright and Black Women: Imagining the Feminine in The Outsider
8. Masculinity, Misogyny, and the Limits of Racial Community
9. He's a Rapist, Even When He's Not: Richard Wright's Account of Black Male Vulnerability in the Raping of Willie McGee
Part 3: Black Internationalism
10. Behind the McGee Case
11. Seizing Freedom with Simone de Beauvoir
12. Revisiting Richard Wright in Ghana: Black Radicalism and the Dialectics of Diaspora
13. Psychology and Black Liberation in Richard Wright's Black Power (1954)
Part 4: Rhetorical Registers
14. Blueprint for Negro Writing
15. Floating Facts on a Sea of Emotion: The Literary Journalism of Richard Wright
16. Many Dark Mirrors in Richard Wright's 12 Million Black Voices
17. Richard Wright: The 'Nature' of Politics, the 'Politics' of Nature
Part 5: Uncle Tom's Great-Grandchildren
18. Joe Louis Uncovers Dynamite
19. Notes toward a Political Economy of Life and Death: Reading Richard Wright with Frantz Fanon
20. Reading Richard Wright beyond the Carceral State: The Politics of Refusal in Black Radical Imagination
21. Slavery Continued, Freedom Sought: Wright's Political Intellectual Journey

What People are Saying About This

Neil Roberts

"There is no existing text that compares to this brilliant volume. The Politics of Richard Wright will become instantly the signature text on Wright's political thought. The book as a whole shall reshape the contours of Wright studies and the myriad fields to which Wright's political ideas have central importance. It is a must-read."

From the Publisher

"This is a very impressive volume. One of the many great strengths of the book is that it draws on such a diverse array of expertise, as well as on so many different methodological approaches. The inclusion of four works by Richard Wright is a wonderful innovation." — Simon Stow, author of American Mourning: Tragedy, Democracy, Resilience

Simon Stow

"This is a very impressive volume. One of the many great strengths of the book is that it draws on such a diverse array of expertise, as well as on so many different methodological approaches. The inclusion of four works by Richard Wright is a wonderful innovation."

Vincent Lloyd

"Among the praiseworthy features of this manuscript is its inclusion of Wright's own words as a sort of backbone to the project, with a text from Wright launching each section. The reader is able to engage with Wright directly and to evaluate for oneself some of the readings that are presented in the analytical essays. That these texts mix the familiar ("Blueprint for Negro Literature") and the less familiar ("I Have Seen Black Hands") reminds the reader of the richness of Wright's oeuvre and inspires the reader to look for more sources."

Editorial Reviews

Gordon and Zirakzadeh have gathered essays that illuminate the complexities and paradoxes of Wright's literature and life. The collection analyzes Wright's views on race... sex, religion, and African independence movements.... Highly recommended.

Choice - W. Glasker

There is no existing text that compares to this brilliant volume. The Politics of Richard Wright will become instantly the signature text on Wright's political thought. The book as a whole shall reshape the contours of Wright studies and the myriad fields to which Wright's political ideas have central importance. It is a must-read.

Neil Roberts

This is a very impressive volume. One of the many great strengths of the book is that it draws on such a diverse array of expertise, as well as on so many different methodological approaches. The inclusion of four works by Richard Wright is a wonderful innovation.

Simon Stow

Among the praiseworthy features of this manuscript is its inclusion of Wright's own words as a sort of backbone to the project, with a text from Wright launching each section. The reader is able to engage with Wright directly and to evaluate for oneself some of the readings that are presented in the analytical essays. That these texts mix the familiar ('Blueprint for Negro Literature') and the less familiar ('I Have Seen Black Hands') reminds the reader of the richness of Wright's oeuvre and inspires the reader to look for more sources.

Vincent Lloyd

"Gordon and Zirakzadeh have gathered essays that illuminate the complexities and paradoxes of Wright's literature and life. The collection analyzes Wright's views on race... sex, religion, and African independence movements.... Highly recommended." — W. Glasker, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden, Choice

From the Publisher