by Peter Bruck
was contradictin g Wright' s advocat e Irvin g Howe ; cf. hi s "Blac k Boy s and
Native Sons," Dissent, 10 (1963), 353-368.
124
19. Cf. "A Ver y Ster n Discipline, " Harper's Magazine, 23 4 (Marc h 1967) ,
p. 94 : "I'v e bee n readin g th e classic s o f Europea n and American literature
since childhood."
20. "Th e World and the Jug," in Shadow and Act, loc.cit.,p. 145 ; "The Art
of Fiction: An Interview," ibid., p. 169f .
21. Deutsch , op. cit., p. 54.
22. Schor, op. cit., p. 16.
23. Fo r a n interpretatio n o f thi s stor y cf . Bernhar d Ostendorf , "Ralp h
Ellison, 'Flying Home' (1944)," in Pete r Freese, ed., DieamerikanischeShort
Story der Gegenwart (Berlin, 1976) , pp. 64-76. Cf. also Joseph F . Trimmer,
"Ralph Ellison's Fryin g Home,' " Studies in Short Fiction, 2 (1972), 175-182.
24. Cf . Ralp h Ellison, "The Art of Fiction : A n Interview," repr. in Shadow
and Act, loc. cit., p. 177.
25. Amon g these was "A Coupla of Scalped Indians " which has been inter-
preted b y Kar l Diet z i n Frieder Busch , Renate Schmidt-v. Bardeleben, edd.,
Amerikanische Erzählliteratur 1950-1970 (München, 1975), pp. 197-206.
26. Emanue l and Gross, op. cit, p. 253.
27. Gysin, op. cit., p. 167.
28. Emanue l and Gross, op. cit., p. 251.
29. Edwar d Guereschi , "Anticipation s o f Invisible Man, Ralp h Ellison' s
'King o f th e Bing o Game, ' " Negro American Literature Forum, 6 (1972),
122.
30. Davi d L . Carson , "Ralp h Ellison : Twent y Year s After, " Studies in
American Fiction, 1 (1973) , 9.
31. Cf . Pau l Goetsch , "Probleme un d Methoden de r Short-Story-Interpre-
tation," i n Pau l Goetsch , ed. , Studien und Materialien zur Short Story
(Frankfurt a m Main, 21973), p. 27.
32. Th e stor y wa s originally publishe d i n Tomorrow 4 (Novembe r 1944) ,
29-33. Sinc e the n i t ha s bee n anthologize d a t least three times: cf. William
Adams, Pete r Con n an d Barr y Slepian , edd., Afro-American Literature:
Fiction (Boston, 1970), pp. 128-137; cf. Marcus Klein and Robert Pack, edd.,
Short Stories: Classic, Modern, Contemporary (Boston, 3 1967), pp. 487496;
cf. als o Emanue l an d Gross, op. cit., pp. 271-279. Quotations will be taken
from this anthology. Page references are given in the text itself in (...).
33. Cf . Pete r Freese , "Die Short Stor y im Englischunterricht der Sekundar-
stufe II : Entwur f eines Interpretationsverfahrens," Der fremdsprachliche
Unterricht, 37 (Februar 1976) , 10.
34. Cf. R . Ellison, "The Ar t of Fiction : A n Interview," repr. in Shadow and
Act, loc. cit., p. 174.
35. Deutsch , op. cit., p. 57.
36. Selke,op. cit., p. 82.
37. Guereschi , op. cit., p. 122.
38. After Alienation: American Novels in Mid-Century (Clevelan d & New
125
York, 1964), p. 106.
39. Cf . Calvi n C. Hernton, "The White Woman," in Sex and Racism (1965)
(Paladin Books, 1970), pp. 20-54.(08032)
40. Selke , op. cit, p. 82.
41. Klein, op. cit., p. 105.
42. Ibid.
43. Selke , op. cit., p. 82.
44. Klein, op. cit., p. 106.
45. Deutsch,op . cit., p. 58.
46. (Yal e University Press, 1937), p. 61.
47. Eight Men (New York, 1969), p. 49. (Pyramid Books 02034)
48. Op. cit., p. 82.
49. Cf . Will i Real , "Richar d Wright , Th e Ma n Wh o Live d Underground '
(1944)," in Peter Freese, ed., op. cit. , p. 59.
50. Cf . Ostendorf, op. cit. , p. 65 und p. 73.
51. Emanue l and Gross, op. cit., p. 270.
52. " A Very Stern Discipline," loc. cit. , p. 83.
53. Rober t H. Moore,ed., op. cit., p. 174.
54. Op. cit., p. 106f . Cf . als o Selke, op. cit., p. 83: "His freedom, however, is of necessity only an ephemeral illusion."
55. Op.cit.,pA07.
56. Emanue l and Gross, op. cit. , p. 252.
57. "Blue s People," repr. in Shadow and Act, loc. cit. , p. 249.
58. Cf . Emanuel and Gross, op. cit., p. 253.
59. Fo r th e genesis of the title cf. Carlo s Baker, Hemingway: The Writer as
Artist (Princeton, New Jersey, cop. 1957), p. 142.
60. Cf . Gene Bluestein, "The Blues as a Literary Theme," The Massachusetts
Review, 8 (1967), 615.
61. Cf . Mat. 22,14; cf. also 20,16.
62. Thi s motif occurs several times in Hemingway's work: cf. "Snows of Kili-
manjaro," in The First Forty-Nine Stories (London, new edition, 1962), p.72;
cf. also "An Alpine Idyll," ibid., p. 280.
63. Op. cit.,p. 106 .
64. Carson , op. cit. , p. 13.
65. Selke , op. cit. , p. 83.
66. Black and White Identity Formation: Studies in the Psychosocial Devel-
opment of Lower Socioeconomic Class Adolescent Boys (New York, 1971),
p. 34.
67. Gordo n W. Allport, The Nature of Prejudice (Doubleday Anchor Books,
1958), p. 147f. (09374)
68. Hauser , op. cit. , p. 35.
69. "Th e Ar t o f Fiction : A n Interview, " repr . in Shadow and Act, loc. cit.,
p. 178 . Cf. also Geiler, op. cit., p. 10.
126
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
An extensive bibliograph y o f Elliso n criticis m ma y b e found in the books by
Selke (cf . not e 1 ) an d b y Cov o (cf . not e 5) . Fo r a summary o f secondar y
sources devote d t o invisible Man cf. Rol f Franzbecker , "Ralp h Ellison, " i n Peter Bruck , Rol f Franzbecker , Willi Real , Der modeme Roman des amerika-
nischen Negers (Darmstadt, 1977 , in print).
127
David Galloway
WILLIAM MELVIN KELLEY
THE POKER PARTY
(1961)
Critics an d boo k reviewer s wer e unanimou s i n greetin g Willia m
Melvin Kelley as one of the most accomplished and versatile young
writers to appea r i n th e turbulen t decade of the 1960's . They also
recognized that , whil e Kelle y explored the problem of being black
in Americ a wit h immens e energ y an d imagination , hi s vision wa s
less militantly politica l than that which claimed so much attention
in th e internationa l pres s of th e day . Kelley wished , above all , to
establish his credentials as a writer of fiction, a dedicated, innovative
craftsman. Th e fac t o f hi s own ski n colo r wa s secondary t o tha t
sense o f vocation , an d eve n whe n h e spoke directl y o f rac e rela-
tions, o f th e subtl e interdependence s lockin g blac k an d whit e
Americans together, he did so without the searing anger of Eldridge
Cleaver or Amiri Baraka.
The character s i n Kelley' s novel s and shor t storie s suffer non e
of th e violen t terror s an d persecutions tha t onc e seeme d th e in-
evitable heritag e o f th e blac k protagonist . Despit e thei r modes t
beginnings, they ofte n manag e t o carv e a reasonably secur e nich e
for themselve s withi n th e America n system ; th e trial s t o whic h
they ar e submitted hav e as much t o d o wit h being human as they
do, specifically, wit h bein g black, thoug h i t migh t b e argue d tha t
Kelley's ow n sens e o f racia l consciousnes s ha s becom e mor e
troubled an d mor e radicalize d durin g th e cours e o f hi s career .
None
theless, we can recognize in his writings the voice of a relative-
ly comfortable , secure , well-educate d blac k communit y whic h
will n o doub t mak e itsel f eve n mor e frequentl y hear d i n th e
decades to come.
Born i n Ne w Yor k Cit y i n 1937 , Kelle y wa s educate d a t th e
prestigious Fieldston e School , an d fro m ther e wen t t o Harvar d
University, wher e h e studie d wit h Archibal d McLeis h an d Joh n
Hawkes. Bot h o f thes e distinguishe d teacher s wer e importan t
influences o n his development a s a writer, an d significantly , bot h
combined intellectual-academi c career s wit h creativ e writing .
129
From Joh n Hawkes , Kelle y absorbe d somethin g o f th e fabulis t
manner, an d fro m MacLeish , no doubt , h e learne d the lesson that
art mus t serv e an d b e involved i n societ y a s a form o f knowledge
the stat e urgently needs. Kelley graduated from Harvar d College in
1959, bu t durin g hi s undergraduat e day s h e ha d alread y begu n
the early version of what would become his first novel , A Different
Drummer (1962) . Harvard's Dana Reed Prize helped him complete
the book , whic h i n tur n wo n the Rosenthal Foundation Awar d of
the Nationa l Institut e o f Art s an d Letter s i n 1963 . Meanwhile ,
Kelley wa s publishin g article s an d shor t storie s i n The Saturday
Evening Post, Esquire, The Negro Digest, The Dial, and Mademoi-
selle. The bes t o f th e shor t fictio n o f thi s period wa s collected in
Dancers on the Shore (1964) , fro m whic h 'Th e Poke r Party " is
taken.
Kelley's early , dramati c succes s clearl y se t hi m apar t fro m
former generation s o f blac k America n writers , but i t als o played
a role in establishing one of the central concerns of his fiction. The
dilemma h e frequentl y underscore s is that the black's destiny is in
many way s indistinguishabl e fro m th e destin y o f th e entir e post -
modern America n society , bu t tha t participation in such a destiny
must no t b e allowe d to submerge entirely th e ethnic, cultural, and
personal identit y o f th e black . Succes s i n Americ a i s largel y
definied i n whit e terms ; blac k "success " is , therefore , ofte n a
tormenting parado x — as i t i s show n t o b e i n Jame s Baldwin' s
"Sonny's Blues, " Joh n A . Williams ' Sissie o r i n Kelley' s secon d
novel, A Drop of Patience (1965). Kelley's ow n futur e successe s
included a perio d a s writer-in-residenc e a t th e Stat e Universit y
College o f Ne w York , fellowship s t o bot h th e Ne w York Writer s
Conference an d th e famou s Breadloa f Conference , an d a gran t
from th e Joh n Ha y Whitne y Foundation . He has taught writing at
the Ne w Schoo l a s wel l a s the Universit y o f Paris , Nanterre, and
with hi s wife Kare n ha s lived in New York, Rome, Ibiza and Paris;
they no w mak e thei r hom e i n th e Wes t Indies . I n 196 7 Kelle y
published dem, a raucous satire of white America and its synthetic
culture, an d i n 197 0 a linguisti c tour-de-force entitled Dunfords
Travels Everywheres. Sinc e tha t time , no ne w work by Kelley has
appeared, an d none is scheduled to appear in the near future. Given
the extraordinar y productivit y o f hi s early year s as a writer, thi s
amounts t o a ver y lon g silence . Perhap s Kelley himsel f ha s been
caught o n th e horn s o f tha t dilemm a know n a s success ; an d
130
perhaps h e pushe d hi s forma l experiment s s o far, an d s o fast, tha t
a necessar y silenc e ha d t o succee d hi s exhaustin g fora y int o th e
intense verbalizations o f Dunfords Travels Everywheres.
In th e "Preface " t o Dancers on the Shore Kelle y observe d tha t
An America n write r wh o happens t o hav e brow n ski n face s this unique
problem: Solution s and answers to The Negro Problem are very often read
into hi s work . A t th e instan t the y ope n hi s book , hi s reader s begi n t o
search fervently , an d often wit h honest concern, for som e key or answer
to what is happening today between black and white people in America.
At thi s time , let m e sa y fo r th e recor d tha t I a m not a sociologist or a
politician o r a spokesman. Suc h peopl e tr y t o giv e answers . A writer, I
think, should ask questions. He should depict people, not symbols or ideas
disguised as people.
I am an American Negro. I hope I am a writer, but perhaps the latter state-
ment is not mine to judge.
Kelley's brie f bu t significan t caree r clearl y establishe s his credent -
ials as a writer; his work reveal s him no t merel y as an accomplished
technician, bu t a s a true pyro-technician . In A Different Drummer
Kelley portraye d a poo r Souther n blac k name d Tucke r Calliban ,
the descendan t o f a legendar y Africa n slave , wh o on e da y pour s
salt o n hi s fields , set s fir e t o hi s house , an d walk s awa y wit h hi s
pregnant wif e an d child . Other s follow him , and withi n forty-eigh t
hours a n entir e fictitiou s stat e ha s bee n emptie d o f it s blac k
population. Kelley' s title is taken fro m Thoreau' s famou s assertio n
that "I f a man doe s not kee p pace wit h his companions, perhaps i t
is becaus e he hears a different drummer . Le t him ste p to th e musi c
which h e hears, however measured o r far away." 2
In placin g Tucke r Caliba n withi n th e traditio n o f America n
individualism, o f grass-root s politica l activity , Kelle y suggest s on e
possible cours e fo r blac k liberation . I n th e perso n o f a wealth y
Northern reformer , a Negro preacher wh o come s to stud y Tucker' s
revolt, h e depict s anothe r — th e educated , somewha t cynica l
liberal reformer . Mor e importantly , i n th e reaction s o f th e aston -
ished white s wh o witnes s Tucke r Caliban' s rebellion , Kelle y first
begins t o explor e th e subtle , complex , ofte n painfu l symbiosi s o f
black an d whit e America . I n its use o f fantasy , the novel also points
ahead t o Kelley' s furthe r experiment s i n th e fabulis t tradition ,
represented b y dem an d Dunfords Travels Everywheres.
At firs t glance , A Drop of Patience seem s mor e conventionall y
realistic tha n Kelley' s othe r novels . I t episodicall y chronicle s th e
131
life o f a blind jazz musician, Ludlow Washington, who after eleven
years in a home fo r handicappe d children , leaves at the age of six-
teen t o join a band a s a trumpeter. Ludlo w marrie s his landlady's
daughter bu t late r fall s i n lov e wit h a whit e student . Whe n sh e
discovers herself pregnan t wit h hi s child, she refuses to accept the
problems o f a mixed marriage , and he r rejection i s the beginnin g
of a long period o f tormen t fo r Ludlow . Much o f th e nex t seve n
years i s spen t i n menta l hospitals , an d hi s sanity i s finally save d
only b y th e dedicatio n o f a friend name d Hardie and by Harriet, a
young blac k journalis t wh o fall s i n lov e with him . Any summar y
of th e novel's action inevitably overstresses its realistic framework ;
in fact , th e boo k i s wonderfully innovativ e i n
technique . Ludlo w
Washington i s Kelley's centra l consciousness , the sensitiv e register
through whic h th e autho r reflect s o n rac e relations , o n th e dif -
ferent lif e style s o f th e blacks , on Nort h an d South , on the perils
of succes s an d th e meanin g o f art . Bu t Washington i s blind, an d
with immens e technica l virtuosity Kelle y communicate s hi s
experiences throug h tactiele and auditor y sensations . Visua l
images rarely occur , an d th e reade r is subtly draw n int o th e dar k
but delicatel y responsiv e worl d o f the blind character. The novel's
technique is clearly etched in the opening paragraph:
The hous e wa s to o quiet . Hi s little siste r shoul d hav e bee n running,
screeching in the hallway; behind the house his brother should have been
batting stones with a stick; his mother should have been singing. At least
there shoul d have been the short, heavy hiss of her broom. Instead the
house was so still that th e drippin g of the kitchen pump was as loud as
rocks dropping in a pond.
Having established hi s unique poin t o f view, Kelley is able to pro-
ceed t o describ e a rite of passage into the adult world of sex, love,
racism, an d fam e whic h migh t otherwis e hav e seeme d entirel y
conventional.
Kelley's thir d nove l i s preface d b y th e phoneti c transcriptio n
næv, lemi telj e hae v de m fok s li v ... ("Now lemme tellya how dem
folks liv e ...") . "de m folks " are , o f course , th e whit e folks , an d
they liv e wit h thei r feebl e myth s o f whit e superiority , masculin e
prerogative, an d soap-oper a escapism . Th e novel' s whit e prota -
gonist is an advertising executive, Mitchell Pierce, whose wife Tarn
takes a blac k lover , eventuall y becomin g pregnan t b y bot h love r
and husban d an d giving birth to fraternal twins , one black and one
132
white. The whit e bab y soon dies, and Mitchell Pierce sets out on a
surreal journe y throug h Harle m i n searc h o f th e blac k infant' s
father. Completel y misinterpretin g th e folkway s an d th e argo t o f
this world , he becomes the dup e o f a black confidenc e ma n wh o
is, in fact , hi s wife's lover . Here , far mor e tha n i n Kelley' s earlie r
