During the 20s and 30s, an extraordinary confluence of black talent expressed itself in the literary and cultural phenomenon that has come to be known as the Harlem Renaissance. In a radical assertion of racial self-consciousness and a celebration of ethnic identity which was echoed across the nation, black writers and intellectuals came together with the intent of redefining the vision of America through artistic endeavor. The texts and authors which have long been recognized as exemplary of the Harlem Renaissance - Toomer, Hurston, Larsen, Hughes - have inspired increasingly widespread historical and literary studies of the era, but until now there has been no definitive volume rendering them accessible to the mainstream American classroom. The anthology, which contains three novellas and four Short stories, offers lucid biographical headnotes about each of the authors included. Bill Andrews' fluid and insightful introduction provides a full historical context for a study of the Harlem Renaissance, inquiring into its motives and its follies, its ambitions and its failures; and he traces its resonances to the present day.Classic Fiction of the Harlem Renaissance offers every prospect of becoming the flagship textbook for studies of the period.
