Book contents
- African American Literature in Transition, 1980–1990
- African American Literature in Transition
- African American Literature in Transition, 1980–1990
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I The Expanding Canon
- 1 Those Dazzling African American Women Writers of the 1980s
- 2 Innovations and Institutions in African American Poetry of the 1980s
- 3 Wideman’s Family Stories and the Carceral Archipelago
- 4 A Queer Reckoning for Black Masculinity
- 5 August Wilson’s Time and History’s Black Bottom
- Part II New Directions/New Literary Forms
- Part III Global Connections
- Index
2 - Innovations and Institutions in African American Poetry of the 1980s
from Part I - The Expanding Canon
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 February 2023
- African American Literature in Transition, 1980–1990
- African American Literature in Transition
- African American Literature in Transition, 1980–1990
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I The Expanding Canon
- 1 Those Dazzling African American Women Writers of the 1980s
- 2 Innovations and Institutions in African American Poetry of the 1980s
- 3 Wideman’s Family Stories and the Carceral Archipelago
- 4 A Queer Reckoning for Black Masculinity
- 5 August Wilson’s Time and History’s Black Bottom
- Part II New Directions/New Literary Forms
- Part III Global Connections
- Index
Summary
This chapter focuses on one major change in African American poetry of the 1980s: the propping open of doors to predominantly white cultural institutions for (certain) African American poets. The author refers to three overlapping sites of power: (historically white) academic institutions that train critics and poets, which began embracing more Black students and faculty; publishing venues that selectively promoted certain Black poets, which include presses operated by white universities; and white-run awards-granting bodies, which started to honor a few more Black poets. All shifted their approaches to Black poetry throughout the 1980s – both helping and hindering Black poets.
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- African American Literature in Transition, 1980–1990 , pp. 36 - 55Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023