The Norton Anthology of African American Literature

by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Editor), Nellie Y. McKay (Editor)

An anthology of the work of 120 writers spanning two centuries, this book covers the earliest known work by an African American, Lucy Terry's poem "Bars Fight", to the writing of Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison, and Poet Laureate Rita Dove. It begins with blues, gospel, spirituals, rap, sermons, prayers, testimonies and speeches, and continues with writing of all genres: poetry, short fiction, novels, drama, autobiography, journals and letters, including the full text of 11 major works.

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, African American, Anthologies, Classics, Literature, Short Stories

Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. is a Professor of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University and Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. He is well-known as a literary critic, an editor of literature, and a proponent of black literature and black cultural studies.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few texts that I did not sell back to the bookstore for beer money.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent anthology, including many works in their entirety. This book covers about 300 years of literature, and should be a standard for English students.

The included audio CD was a nice extra, containing tracks from the original Lomax recordings and a song sung by Paul Robeson. This is a good reference text for anyone interested in American History or American literature.

[Sasha]

Not that I want to actually read this, per se, necessarily, but that I want to remember to read everything in it.

Thanks to Adam for cluing me in to this - he was like "you know, the famous anthology edited by Henry Louis Gates," and I was like the what now? Way to make me feel like a chump, Adam.

[Jarrett Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only anthology I've ever read from cover to cover. It's over 2000 pages long and packed with works from black writers I'm ashamed to say I'd never even heard of. A must read for anyone interested in black literature. A must-own for English instructors.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Revolution Will Not be Televised. From novel excerpts to rap and hip hop lyrics to poetry to audio accompaniment, it's all here. This anthology is amazing, literally drawing from every facet of the African American written word. It includes anonymous slave songs; it includes the big names in contemporary literature; it includes everything in between. Common themes are explored throughout, sometimes overtly and sometimes implicitly. Despite the all-encompassing nature of the volume, common threads definitely run throughout. We know Norton is the best. This is why. The only drawback is that, of course, as soon as it went to print it became a piece of history in an ever-evolving body of material. But that's a problem inherent in every anthology that is not time-period specific, I suppose.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for my African American Literature class while attending Tallahassee Community College. From the works enclosed in this book, I would have to say that it gave me a positiver outlook on my life as an African American male. I ended up getting pretty much an African American history lesson as well.

[Dee Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the fact this book included snippets from historical reads such as Harriet Jacob's, " Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", Harriet E. Wilson's "Our Nig" & Booker T.'s "Up From Slavery". This book also included an abundance of poems, spirituals & folktales. I loved the way the works were divided into different time periods. Excellent source for African American literature.

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nellie Y. McKay's "The Norton Anthology of African American Literature" is an excellent resource for the study and exploration of African-American literature. It was used in one of my undergraduate classes and was one of the college books I decided to keep to add to my personal library. It came in quite useful when a later class asked us to do a research paper on Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl".
This book includes includes the work of 120 writers over two centuries, including works from W.E.B. DuBois, Phillis Wheatley, Sojourner Truth, Richard Wright, and Lorraine Hansberry among many others. The book is well-organized and structured, making it easier for readers to find exactly what they are looking for. It is an excellent textbook and would make a fine addition to any reference library.
I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history, African-American literature, or just really good writings in general. (One of my favorite sections is the poetry). I'll probably have to purchase one of the newer editions in the near future so that I can have access to the cd material, which was not included with my copy.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent read and such a great tool for those who have never really gotten a proper lesson on black history and literature. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to read this and I feel that it is an absolute disgrace to the American public school system that most of this was completely new to me. However, I am so happy that I finally got to read it and become a bit more educated, its never too late to learn. My only complaint is that there is no audiobook. Norton should consider making audiobooks for their critical anthologies. I think it could help students (and others) who struggle with reading for whatever reason.

[Christopher Butson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly extensive collection of essential works; I wanted to read through it this Summer, but there's no way I'll be able to. It includes entire works and selections. The editors did a crazy good job! I am very impressed at the choices, though it may be a bit phallo-centric.

[Susanmudry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read 85% of this book for college. It was pretty good.

[allison riera :)]

/ for school.

no, i did not read the entire volume but based on the number of times i've reread certain excerpts, i'm including it lol.

[Ella Soucier · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good selection of poems/novels. Author descriptions were thorough.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shortly after reading this amazing collection of novels, memoirs, poetry and essays covering the past two hundred plus years of Africans tortured history in America I opened the newspaper to read that the editor and foremost African American scholar had been arrested and roughed up for trying to burglarize his own house.

This is an rich and thick collection of African American writers from the past two hundred years. What is truly inspiring about the stories, novels, essays, and poems is rather than exhausting the material in the 2800 pages this volume points the reader to other uncollected riches.

[Brittany-Marie Aarons · Rating 5 out of 5]

My former sociology professor borrowed this book and never gave it back. As an non-American black woman learning about the African American experience, this was absolutely vital and eye-opening to evolving my world view. The discussions we had in my literature class were awe-inspiring. I should buy again, just for collection sake.

[Melanie Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used for Black Lit of America and African American Lit classes in addition to PBS dvds Eyes on the Prize. Includes plays and excepts of the most important novels of the genre, which keeps students from having to buy multiple books or spend more time on each full novel.

[Tatiana Putra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course I didn’t read the whole thing but I read enough of it for it to count!! Anthologies should be like dog years…. You read enough and it counts! Plus I really really enjoyed the works offered here and the dignity it gives to African American history.

[Molly Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the entire thing, cover to cover. From what I've gleaned in my Harlem Renaissance class, this is a collection of beautiful excerpts from a fascinating body of literature.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to classify this. It is history, poetry, short stories, essays and excerpts from larger works. There is a lot here to digest. I feel my privilege in that I can now pick up something lighter to escape whereas African American's don't have the luxury of changing their skin color to experience a kinder gentler world. There is a lot of exceptional writing here. I was glad to be introduced to some wonderful authors. A lot of the content is heartbreaking. I was sorry not to find some joy, but I think I understand why. I found Norton's Anthology of Literature by Women much easier to read even though it is about the same length. Perhaps because as a woman I could more easily understand the perspective. This was a great education and a great challenge.

[Willard Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great anthology. If you could not find it elsewhere. It was within the covers of this volume. Useful after class was finished.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So long, so detailed.

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice collection of poems and short stories by some of the greatest African American writers of the past.

[Abbie O'Hara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's clear there are significant gaps in this anthology, but all around it is sufficient.

[Outlaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have book for those interested in African American literature! One of my favorite books of all time!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just wish I had the second edition so I could pass my class

[NAOMI POINDEXTER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Use in classes

[Hindi Al-Qahtani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank

[Professor Typewriter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and remarkable work. An important anthology.

[ReadtoDeath · Rating 3 out of 5]

read

[Kimberly Perry]

There won’t be a dry eye in the room after reading this book.