“[Smethurst] reveals how the Jim Crow system triggered significant intellectual responses from Black American writers, deeply marking the beginnings of literary modernism and, ultimately, notions of American modernity.” — The Courier
“A richly insightful and informative account of the often occluded racial dynamics of early modernism, and . . . of the development of an American literature of urban modernity.” —
Journal of American Studies
“Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty.” —
CHOICE
“Smethurst recalibrates our understanding of why American modernism emerged and how its complex, literary characteristics evolved.” —
Southern Historian
From the Back Cover
Smethurst explores how the Jim Crow system triggered significant artistic and intellectual responses from African American writers, deeply marking the beginnings of literary modernism and, ultimately, notions of American modernity.
About the Author
James Smethurst is associate professor of Afro-American studies at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
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