The Collected Works of Jupiter Hammon

by Cedrick May

Cedrick May’s  The Collected Works of Jupiter Hammon  offers a complete look at the literary achievements of one of the founders of African American literature. Born into slavery on the Lloyd plantation in 1711, Jupiter Hammon became the first African American writer to be published in the present-day United States at the age of forty-nine. It has been decades since a collection of Hammon’s work has appeared, and May’s intensive research has yielded two additional poems, adding new layers to his works and life that, until now, have gone unexplored. The most comprehensive volume on Hammon’s works to date,  The Collected Works of Jupiter Hammon  carefully reconstructs the historical, political, social, and religious contexts that shaped his essays and poems throughout the late eighteenth century. This attentive reconstruction, which takes full account of Hammon’s prose works as well as his more well-known poetry, gives readers a radical re-reading of Hammon as a much more complex and intellectually curious commentator on his historical and political period, while providing ample evidence of his literary importance and artistic integrity. Cedrick May’s fresh presentation and insightful reevaluation of Hammon’s life and writings will change the way Hammon is studied and appreciated among literary scholars and readers alike. This edition will become the definitive one for many years to come.

Genres: Poetry

134 pages, Hardcover

Published November 3, 2017

Reviews

[Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a shame so many people don't know anything about Jupiter Hammon. Despite being the founder of African American literature, I did not read a single piece by him in all of my years of schooling. This collection restores to Hammon the true depth of his literary achievements, all the while encouraging a more nuanced view of Hammon's controversial treatment of slavery.

All in all, a great collection. My favorites were "An Address to the Negroes of the State of New York" and "An Essay on Slavery." The editor rightly juxtaposes them to give readers a fuller understanding of how Hammon perceived slavery.

[K. P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poems of a Long Island slave who had access to his master's library. The first African-American poet published in the U.S. Some beautiful material in this volume.