Durthy A. Washington

The author, ex-slave Harriet Jacobs, speaks through her narrator Linda Brent to reveal a story of enslavement, degradation, and sexual exploitation. A book-length narrative, it is often cited as the counterpart to Frederick Douglass' An American Slave, Written by Himself. Addressing white women in the North about the bondage of black women in the South, it focuses on five distinct phases in Linda Brent's life.

This novel about a young black man in Harlem reveals the process of self-discovery and emphasizes individuality. Through a difficult passage into manhood, Ellison writes of the alienation of humans in everyday life, yet he remains whole and optimistic. This concise supplement to Ellison's Invisible Man helps students understand the overall structure of the novel, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author.

In this celebrated novel, Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison created a new way of rendering the contradictory nuances of black life in America. Its earthy poetic language and striking use of folklore and myth established Morrison as a major voice in contemporary fiction. Song of Solomon begins with one of the most arresting scenes in our century's literature: a dreamlike tableau depicting a man poised on a roof, about to fly into the air, while cloth rose petals swirl above the snow-cov... more info>>