Synopses & Reviews
The most influential East-West artistic, cultural, and literary exchange that has taken place in modern and postmodern times was the reading and writing of haiku. Richard Wright wrote over four thousand haiku, Alice Walkers work reflects her affinity for Zen philosophy, and Ishmael Reeds work includes a discussion of Eastern thought. Here, esteemed contributors investigate the impact of Eastern philosophy and religion on African American writers from Richard Wright to Ralph Ellison to Ishmael Reed and Charles Johnson, offering a fresh field of literary inquiry.
Review
“Cross-Cultural Visions in African American Literature: West Meets East is a fresh approach to an important, though little studied, aspect of African American literature. It examines how Eastern philosophy and literary assumptions have affected the work of a number of important black American writers, including Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Sonia Sanchez, James Emanuel, Ishmael Reed, and Charles Johnson.”--Robert Butler, author of Contemporary African American Fiction: The Open Journey
Synopsis
The most influential East-West artistic, cultural, and literary exchange that has taken place in modern and postmodern times was the reading and writing of haiku. Here, esteemed contributors investigate the impact of Eastern philosophy and religion on African American writers such as Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and Toni Morrison, offering a fresh field of literary inquiry.
About the Author
Yoshinobu Hakutani is a Professor of English and University Distinguished Scholar at Kent State University. His recent books and editions include Haiku and Modernist Poetics; Art, Music and Literature 1897-1992 by Theodore Dreiser; Cross-Cultural Visions in African American Modernism: From Spatial Narrative to Jazz Haiku; Theodore Dreiser and American Culture: New Readings; and Haiku: This Other World by Richard Wright, with Robert L. Tener.