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Frederick Douglass and Herman Melville: Essays in Relation New Edition
Author(s): Samuel Otter
- Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
- Publication Date: 30 Mar. 2008
- Edition: New
- Language: English
- Print length: 488 pages
- ISBN-10: 0807831840
- ISBN-13: 9780807831847
Book Description
Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) and Herman Melville (1819-1891) addressed in their writings a range of issues that continue to resonate in American culture: the reach and limits of democracy; the nature of freedom; the roles of race, gender, and sexuality; and the place of the United States in the world. Yet they are rarely discussed together, perhaps because of their differences in race and social position. Douglass escaped from slavery and tied his well-received nonfiction writing to political activism, becoming a figure of international prominence. Melville was the grandson of Revolutionary War heroes and addressed urgent issues through fiction and poetry, laboring in increasing obscurity.In eighteen original essays, the contributors to this collection explore the convergences and divergences of these two extraordinary literary lives. Developing new perspectives on literature, biography, race, gender, and politics, this volume ultimately raises questions that help rewrite the color line in nineteenth-century studies.The contributors are Elizabeth Barnes, Hester Blum, Russ Castronovo, John Ernest, William Gleason, Gregory Jay, Carolyn L. Karcher, Rodrigo Lazo, Maurice S. Lee, Robert S. Levine, Steven Mailloux, Dana D. Nelson, Samuel Otter, John Stauffer, Sterling Stuckey, Eric J. Sundquist, Elisa Tamarkin, Susan M. Ryan, David Van Leer, Maurice Wallace, Robert K. Wallace, and Kenneth W. Warren.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
ROBERT S. LEVINE is professor of English at the University of Maryland and author or editor of a number of books, including Martin Delany, Frederick Douglass, and the Politics of Representative Identity (from the University of North Carolina Press). SAMUEL OTTER is associate professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Melville’s Anatomies.
