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The Absent Man

The Narrative Craft of Charles W. Chesnutt

Charles Duncan author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Ohio University Press

Published:6th Oct '05

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The Absent Man cover

As the first African-American fiction writer to achieve a national reputation, Ohio native Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932) in many ways established the terms of the black literary tradition now exemplified by such writers as Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Charles Johnson.Following

As the first African-American fiction writer to achieve a national reputation, Ohio native Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932) in many ways established the terms of the black literary tradition now exemplified by such writers as Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Charles Johnson.
Following the highly autobiographical nonfiction produced by Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and other slave narrative writers, Chesnutt’s complex, multi-layered short fiction transformed the relationship between African-American writers and their readers. But despite generous praise from W. D. Howells and other important critics of his day, and from such prominent readers as William L. Andrews, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Eric Sundquist in ours, Chesnutt occupies a curiously ambiguous place in American literary history.
In The Absent Man, Charles Duncan demonstrates that Chesnutt’s uneasy position in the American literary tradition can be traced to his remarkable narrative subtlety. Profoundly aware of the delicacy of his situation as a black intellectual at the turn of the century, Chesnutt infused his work with an intricate, enigmatic artistic vision that defies monolithic or unambiguously political interpretation, especially with regard to issues of race and identity that preoccupied him throughout his career.
In this first book-length study of the innovative short fiction, Duncan devotes particular attention to elucidating these sophisticated narrative strategies as the grounding for Chesnutt’s inauguration of a tradition of African-American fiction.

“Charles Duncan’s compelling and perceptive analysis of Chesnutt’s narrative genius will go a long way in resurrecting the reputation of a pioneering African-American writer whose work deserves more attention appreciate than it has received over the years.” * Literary Realism *
“In this detailed and intelligent book, Charles Duncan maps out the ways in which Chesnutt expertly narrates his works to embrace a form of multiculturalism that explores the formation of identity and the preservation of genealogy and family structure…Duncan demonstrates impressive detail in his research.” * Modern Fiction Studies *

ISBN: 9780821412398

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

234 pages