by Peter Bruck
ledged, muc h les s appreciated . Instead , h e wa s either unnotice d a s
a write r o f shor t fictio n o r wrongl y denounce d a s bein g "wedde d
to th e concep t o f assimilatio n a t a tim e whe n suc h a concep t ha s
ceased t o b e th e preoccupatio n o f th e blac k writer." 49
The lac k o f critica l attentio n t o Ellison' s an d Wright' s symbol -
istic shor t fictio n wa s parallelle d b y th e extraordinar y impac t o f
Native Son, whic h se t th e themati c scop e o f blac k writin g for ove r
a decade . Henc e Jame s Baldwin' s attempt s t o defin e himsel f i n
opposition t o Wright' s protes t novel ; henc e als o hi s apparen t lac k
of knowledg e o f th e symbolisti c shor t fictio n o f th e 1940's , whe n
he published hi s first stor y "Previou s Condition" i n 1948 .
IV
James Baldwin , i n hi s well-know n essa y "Man y Thousand s Gone "
(1951), attacke d Wright' s Native Son, which , in hi s eyes, conveye d
the ide a tha t "ther e exist s n o tradition , n o fiel d o f manners , n o
possibility o f ritua l i n Negr o life." 50 Thi s rebuk e implies , i n part ,
the positio n adopte d b y Baldwi n i n hi s shor t fiction , whic h seek s
to illuminat e th e influenc e o f th e pas t o n th e formatio n o f blac k
identity. Henc e hi s concer n wit h th e them e o f th e ques t fo r
identity, whic h i s alway s linke d t o th e proble m o f ho w t o over -
come th e historica l pas t o f th e blacks. 51 Th e preoccupatio n wit h
this theme , whic h run s a s a leitmoti v throug h mos t o f Baldwin' s
writings, elucidate s hi s stanc e a s a blac k artist . A s h e remarked i n
his "Autobiographica l Notes" :
Social affairs are not generally speaking the writer's prime concern, whether
they ough t to be or not; it is absolutely necessary that he establish between
himself an d these affairs a distance which will allow, at least, for clarity, so
that befor e h e ca n loo k forwar d i n an y meaningfu l sense , he mus t b e
allowed t o tak e a long loo k back . I n th e contex t o f the Negro problem
neither white s no r blacks , fo r excellen t reason s o f thei r own , have th e
faintest desir e to look back; but I think that the past is all that makes the
present coherent , an d further , tha t th e pas t wil l remai n horribl e fo r
exactly as long as we refuse to assess it honestly.
12
It follow s tha t hi s fictiona l exploration s o f th e pas t wer e no t onl y
written fro m hi s ow n experience, 53 bu t als o "see k a white reader -
ship whos e racia l ignorance h e wishes to correct." 54 In this respect,
Baldwin stil l view s hi s rol e a s tha t o f a n interprete r o f blac k lif e
to whit e readers .
Fifteen year s afte r Baldwin' s attac k o n Native Son, anothe r
black write r voice d importan t criticis m o f thi s novel. I n a piercing
analysis, LeRo i Jone s charge d Wright' s protes t fictio n wit h no t
having bee n abl e t o mov e "int o th e positio n wher e h e coul d pro -
pose hi s symbols , erec t hi s ow n persona l myths , a s an y grea t
literature must." 55 Jones ' criticis m read s i n man y way s lik e a
prolegomenon t o th e ris e o f th e ne w blac k art s movements o f th e
1960's. The emergenc e o f black cultural nationalism, the awakenin g
of a ne w ethni c consciousness , th e establishmen t o f th e Writers '
Workshop o f th e Organizatio n o f Black American Culture, together
with newl y founde d blac k publishin g house s an d othe r cultura l
media, signalle d th e arriva l o f important ne w outlet s an d activities .
The literatur e growin g ou t o f th e "Blac k Renaissanc e o f th e
sixties"56 turne d ou t t o b e th e revers e o f Wright' s prophecy , "a s
the Negr o merge s int o th e mainstrea m o f America n life , ther e
might resul t actuall y a disappearanc e o f Negr o literatur e a s
such."57 I n contras t t o Wright' s beliefs , th e sixtie s sa w a grea t
blossoming o f blac k literature , whic h — in th e word s o f Hoy t
Fuller, edito r o f Black World — finally lef t th e real m o f protes t
fiction an d becam e " a literatur e o f affirmation." 58 Programmati c
formulations o f thi s ne w outloo k cate r t o a blac k audienc e wit h
the intentio n o f reorderin g "th e wester n cultura l aesthetic. " Th e
role o f th e racia l interpreter t o white s has been replace d b y tha t o f
the teache r t o blacks . In th e word s o f Larr y Neal : "Blac k ar t i s th e
aesthetic an d spiritua l siste r o f th e Blac k Powe r concept . A s such
it envision s a n ar t tha t speak s directly t o the . needs and aspiration s
of blac k America . .. . It proposes a separate symbolism , mythology ,
critique, and iconology." 59
So far , tw o differen t direction s o f th e ne w literatur e o f ethni c
affirmation see m t o hav e emerged . Th e one , exemplifie d b y th e
writings o f LeRo i Jones , explore s th e ques t fo r authenti c blac k
identity. Unlik e Baldwin , Jone s trie s t o develo p a n ethni c con -
sciousness tha t i s no longe r define d b y th e socio-cultura l standard s
of th e white , muc h les s i n oppositio n t o it . Thi s tren d clearl y
marks th e en d o f "doubl e consciousness; " th e write r i s n o longe r
13
preoccupied wit h th e fusio n o f his "divided audience" or with the
preconceived notion s o f hi s white readership . Rather, hi s "rol e in
America is to ai d i n the destruction of America as he knows it."60
The othe r directio n o f th e contemporar y shor t stor y i s quit e
different fro m th e politica l stanc e represente d b y Jones . Fo r
example, th e shor t fiction o f Ernes t Gaine s an d Willia m Melvi n
Kelley doe s no t tr y t o presen t solution s t o th e rac e problem . I n
Kelley's own words,
let me say for th e record that I am not a sociologist or a politician or a
spokesman. Such people try to give answers. A writer, I think, should ask
questions. H e should depic t people , no t symbol s o r idea s disguised as
people.
Now fo r th e first time , Zora Neal e Hurston's lamen t tha t "th e
average, struggling , non-morbi d Negr o i s th e best-kep t secre t i n
America" i s n o longe r valid . A s th e shor t fictio n o f Gaine s and
Kelley demonstrates , th e blac k short story writer has finally extri -
cated himsel f fro m thos e raciall y motivate d preconception s tha t
used t o limi t hi s creative expression s t o th e prejudice s o f his pre-
dominantly whit e audience . Henc e th e fusio n o f th e "divide d
audience" seem s n o longer t o b e illusory. Whether thi s cours e o r
the cultura l nationalis t stanc e o f LeRo i Jones , E d Bullin s an d
others wil l se t i n motio n mor e impulse s an d produc e th e mor e
promising fiction, remains to be seen. The two antagonistic stances,
however, see m t o provide at least possible ways out of the "all but
irreconcilable wa r betwee n hi s [th e blac k writer's ] socia l an d
artistic responsibilities."
The evolutio n o f th e blac k shor t stor y fro m Chesnut t an d
Dunbar t o Jones , Kelley , an d Gaine s present s a paradigm
o f th e
writer's changin g audience and the changing ideas of that audience.
The blac k write r is no longer confined t o the role of an interpreter
of a n ethni c constituenc y t o a n ignorant , racis t whit e audience ,
nor limite d t o th e depiction of happy characters in the plantation-
tradition o r angr y character s i n th e manne r o f th e protes t genre .
For th e firs t tim e i n hi s history , h e seem s t o hav e gaine d th e
privilege o f choosing , according t o hi s literary stance , between an
ethnic-oriented blac k audienc e an d a racially unrestricte d doubl e
audience.
14
v
In th e prefac e t o th e shor t stor y anthology Cutting Edges (1973),
editor Jac k Hick s ha s draw n attentio n t o th e fac t tha t "earlie r
anthologies hav e slighted, howeve r unintentionally , th e talent s o f
blacks an d Thir d Worl d artists." 62 Despit e a growing number o f
black shor t stor y anthologie s i n recen t years , Hick's observatio n
accurately reflect s th e lac k o f interes t i n th e blac k story . Peden' s
prophecy o f 196 4 that "th e production o f a vital Negro American
literature is likely to be one of the major directio n the short fiction
of th e nex t decad e wil l take," 63 ha s turne d ou t t o b e fa r to o
optimistic. A simila r reservatio n ha s t o b e extended t o hi s latest
prophecy o f 1975 : "Storie s b y an d abou t America n black s ar e
likely t o gro w both in number and quality ...' ,64 Althoug h Peden's
remark "tha t th e write r o f shor t fictio n ha s graduall y emerge d
from obscurit y ... . an d tha t mor e goo d volume s o f shor t fictio n
get int o prin t [and ] increasingl y achiev e considerabl e popularit y
or critica l recognition," 65 i s certainly correc t i n genera l terms , it
does no t appl y t o th e blac k shor t story . A s the novelis t Joh n A .
Williams admitte d i n 1975 : "Ther e i s a trend i n Ne w York, an d
that tren d seem s t o indicat e tha t 'Harle m Renaissanc e II ' i s
over."66 Stil l hardl y considere d i n majo r anthologies , th e shor t
story as a genre has remained the Cinderella of black fiction .
The blac k short story has also been widely neglected by modern
critics. The remark o f Emanue l an d Gross in their anthology Dark
Symphony (1968 ) i s stil l a s vali d toda y a s a decad e ago : "n o
analytical criticis m ha s ye t defensibl y identifie d th e bes t shor t
stories writte n b y Negroes." 67 Th e silenc e o f critic s i s i n itsel f
significant. I t ma y b e partl y accounte d fo r b y th e emergenc e o f
the 'blac k aesthetic, ' whic h ha s left a good man y critic s insecure
and baffled , lik e Richar d Gilman, who has voluntarily suspende d
all critical faculties.68 Th e need for a renewal of literary approaches
to blac k literatur e ha s stil l no t ye t bee n met . I n keepin g wit h
Abraham Chapman : "Wester n literar y criticis m ha s no t com e t o
terms i n an y recognize d o r satisfactor y wa y wit h th e fa r mor e
complex questio n o f ethni c writin g generally , particularl y th e
historical communit y o f th e literatur e o f Afric a an d Blacks in the
West."69 No r hav e th e attempt s o f various representatives o f th e
'black aesthetic ' t o fil l thi s void produce d viabl e new approaches.
For, i f "th e questio n fo r th e blac k criti c toda y is, " a s Addiso n
15
Gayle ha s asserted , "ho w fa r th e wor k ha s gone in transformin g a n
American Negr o int o a n African-America n o r blac k man," 70 w e
are lef t wonderin g wha t critica l methodolog y coul d possibl y fin d
an answe r t o such a question .
The onl y notabl e attemp t s o fa r t o fill thi s critica l voi d i s
Robert Bone' s Down Home (1975) , whic h discusse s th e develop -
ment o f th e blac k shor t stor y fro m it s beginning to th e end o f th e
Harlem Renaissance . Unfortunately , thi s firs t full-lengt h stud y
lacks a precis e critica l framewor k an d henc e doe s no t provid e a
really fir m basi s fo r furthe r scholarl y criticis m o f thi s genre . Th e
categories h e applies , pastora l vs . anti-pastoral, ar e so vague71 tha t
they enabl e hi m t o presen t onl y a rathe r simplisti c view. A soun d
framework fo r th e interpretatio n o f blac k shor t fictio n i s as much
a desideratum toda y a s it eve r was.
NOTES
1. Jame s Baldwin , "Sermon s an d Blues " The New York Times Book
Review (March 29, 1959), 6.
2. Natha n Irvin g Huggins , The Harlem Renaissance (Ne w York , 1971) ,
p. 195.
3. W.E.B . DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk (New York, 1961), pp. 16-17.
4. Ralp h Ellison, Shadow & Act (London , 1967), p. 132.
5. Richar d Wright, The Outsider (New York, 1965), p. 129.
6. Bernhar d Ostendorf , "Blac k Poetry , Blues , an d Folklore : Doubl e Con-
sciousness in Afro-American Ora l Culture," Amerikastudien, 20 (1975), 218.
7. Jame s Weldon Johnson, "The Dilemma of the Negro Author," American
Mercury, 15 (1928), 477.
8. Mohamado u Kane, "The Africa n Write r and his Public," in G.D. Killam,
ed., African Writers on African Writing (London, 1975), p. 55.
9. Ibid .,p.60 ff .
10. J . Saunder s Redding , "Th e Negr o Write r an d American Literature, " in
Herbert Hill , ed., Anger, And Beyond: The Negro Writer in the United States
(New York, 1968), p. 19.
11. Ibid., p. 8.
12. J . Saunder s Redding , "The Negro Author: Hi s Publisher, His Public and
His Purse "Publisher's Weekly (March 24,1945), 1287.
13. Johnson , "The Dilemma of the Negro Author," 479.
16
14. Sterling A. Brown , "Th e Negr o Autho r an d Hi s Publisher," Negro Quar-
terly, 1- 4 (1942-43), reprint (Ne w York, 1969) , pp. 14-15.
15. Zora Neal e Hurston, "Wha t Whit e Publisher s Won' t Print," Negro Digest
(April, 1950) , 89.
16. Se e Lucie n Goldmann , "Th e Sociolog y o f literature: statu s and problem s
of method," International Social Science Journal, 1 9 (1967), 496.
17. Fre d Lewi s Pattee , The Development of the American Short Story (Ne w
York, 1923) , p. 337.
18. Sterlin g A. Brown et al. , edd., The Negro Caravan (New York, rpt. 1969) ,
p. 10 .
19. Willia m Dea n Howells , "Pau l Laurenc e Dunbar, " The Bookman, 2 3
(1906), 18 4 ff .
20. Quote d i n Virgini a Cunningham , Paul Laurence Dunbar and His Song,
(New York, rpt. 1969) , p. 219.
21. Rober t Bone , Down Home: A History of Afro-American Short Fiction
from its Beginning to the End of the Harlem Renaissance (Ne w York, 1975) ,
p. 14 .
22. Ibid., p.43.
23. Se e Ja y Martin , ed. , A Singer in the Dawn: Reinterpretations of Paul
Laurence Dunbar (Ne w York , 1975) . In his introduction Marti n discusses the
hitherto unknown newspape r dispatche s of Dunbar and concludes that he was
"one o f th e mos t powerful spokesma n aroun d the turn o f the century agains t
the problem o f the color line." (p. 30)
24. Bone , Down Home, p . 83.
25. Quote d in Helen M. Chesnutt , Charles Waddell Chesnutt: Pioneer of the
Color Line (Chape l Hill, 1952), p. 21.
26. Se e William L . Andrews, "William Dean Howells and Charles W. Chesnutt :
Criticism an d Rac e Fictio n i n th e Ag e o f Booke r T . Washington," American
Literature, 4 8 (1976), 327-339.
27. Quote d i n Rober t M. Farnsworth's introduction t o Charles W. Chestnutt,
The Marrow of Tradition (An n Arbor, 1969) , p. xvi.
28. W.E.B . DuBois , "Criteri a o f Negr o Art, " i n Danie l Walden, ed., W.E.B.
DuBois: The Crisis Writings (New York, 1972) , p. 289.
29. Langsto n Hughes , "Th e Negr o Artis t an d th e Racia l Mountain, " The
Nation (Jul y 23 , 1926) , reprinte d i n Joh n A . Williams , ed. , Amistad 1:
Writings on Black History and Culture (Ne w York, 1970) , p. 304.
30. Margare t Perry , Silence to the Drums: A Survey of the Literature of the
Harlem Renaissance (Westport, Conn., 1976) , p. 63.
31. Johnson , "Th e Dilemm a o f th e Negr o Author, " 481 . See also Johnson's
"Negro Autho r an d Whit e Publishers, " The Crisis, 36 (1929) , 228-229 ; his
position is echoed by Redding , "The Negr o Author," 1288 .
32. Cf . Charle s Scruggs , "'Al l Dresse d U p Bu t N o Plac e T o Go' : Th e Blac k
Writer an d Hi s Audienc e Durin g th e Harle m Renaissance, " American Litera-
17
turet4S (1976), 551.
33. Ibid., p. 553.
33a. Cf. Charles Scruggs, "Jean Toomer : Fugitive, " American Literature, 47
(1975/76), 84-96.
34. Brown , The Negro Caravan, p. 12.
35. Huggins , The Harlem Renaissance, p. 238.
36. Donal d C. Dickinson, A Bio-Bibliography of Langston Hughes 1902-1967
(Hamden, Conn., 1972), p. 75 ff.
37. Ibid., p . 115 .
38. Sterlin g A. Brown, "Negro Characters as Seen by White Authors," Journal
of Negro Education, 2 (1933), 203.
39. Sterlin g A . Brown , The Negro in American Fiction (Port Washington ,
N.Y.,rpt. 1968), p. 106.
40. Richar d Wright , "Blueprin t fo r Negr o Writing, " New Challenge (Fall ,
1937), reprinte d i n Addiso n Gayle , ed., The Black Aesthetic (Garden City,
1972), pp. 315-326.
41. Se e Michel Fabre, The Unfinished Quest of Richard Wright (New York,
1973), p. 161 ff.
42. Richar d Wright , "Ho w 'Bigger ' wa s Born, " i n Abraha m Chapman , ed.,
