Literary Criticism

The James A. Emanuel Literary Criticism Collection contains the document “Lifelong Contributions to African American Literature.” It also includes draft pages of “A Poet’s Mind” (1983), Emanuel’s poetry textbook, and draft pages of “Broadside Critics Series,” (1970-1975) for which Emanuel served as the general editor. These resources are mentioned to illuminate Emanuel’s contribution as a literary scholar.

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It (Discussion) Shortened spellin (an early t echnique in f iction) and extended capitals into of the poems imitate actual sounds and e phases in i nformal talk in big-city Black reas " s" f or "his " "Whatc HU" f or " what do Y U , " " t" for "to, "/ "yr" for "your, 11 "putcha" f or "put you " etc. are commonly heard in þÿ s6 p6E ong6l iksh6. It is only t heir appearance in poetry that might seem strange. But " WHATchu ," reversed i n emphasis would be rare. (Items below, and in future exercises, include matters already treated.) 1. " mmett Ti l": comparing t he poem wi b the draft, f ind reasons for the chan es made wh enever you cen., 2. "The e ro": Th f irst 12-minute draft unskilful, became a poem. Jbat as wrong with tha t draft? 3. "Malcolm": Whichline connects with "Emmett I ill"? How does Malcolm's assassination affect th speaker? 4. "Whitey": MyBrooklyn barb r said of bis youth in Virginia, "White folks, theytried t o take everything .ood away f ro us 11 (see st. 2) The same "they" do what in this poem? Discuss t he girl's difficulties. 5. "anth r": xplain "A froed up 3 inches" and "wakin up LD." " otel napkin" refers to murderous police acts detailed in John ersey' s H ALGIERS MO TEL NCID 1968) , found in O K EVI W D GES " THE NE W 0 K T M ES I EX also leads to information on the event. 6. "Overcome": Explore t he use of "us" end "knots."
Exercises A . (Bla ckn ess in 1 cl poetry) I seems that nobody can give a full y defensible definition o Blac poetry. Some, howve , with a tir eless will s understan able as rel i ; i ous im patience, have hea te d pages of print in their attempt s to do so. Av i i oc s and ditches i n th i s unsafe land, let us stand poets, as o pos ed t o historians, oul con ider fair iddle ground: lack A mer ican poetry is poetry ri tten y Blac k i me ricans. But in order that t eir r ace might lose none of its past, Black authors would accept a racial la el placed upon certain s tyles of speech and thought, upon certain habits, and upon a long rain of acts and events hat, i nside and outside their poems, pr es ve their ancestral li e. 0. " Emm e tt T ill": What words show tbe murder a. s a future lege ? "bed ime story / f the fa ir y / River B y" 1 . " egri tude 11 : W b· is the 11 Black cross of swea t" ? WW hta wa s i ts imports nee in history? word or brief phrase t o equ 1 e c line of st. 2, t he "the-ness" denied by the poem. ef end thr ee metaphors use f or 1olcolm X. 4. " hi tey": Wha t areas s of interracial life are glimpsed? 5. " a nther": "cracker-back" describes Chicago cops how? 6. II overcome": hat do the woman, girl, and men share?
past authors, rather artificial copy of/effort to create, efforts sometimes almost heroic their pitiless questions aimedat the self. At my reading on 1 June 1968 for nine-year-old children in Long Island, New York , a boy asked me, "How did you become a poet?" Tbe same d y I wrote a poem to expand my reply. A few years after an initial printing in THE NEW YORK TIMES, it appeared on the inside cover of the New York State Education Commission's booklet that requested all schools to start teaching Black literature. A special circumstance exists when a poet--or any artistis forced to stop creating. That force, which always destroys, moves variously: it might rattle, like interferences in the USSR; it migbt creep, like dying imagination regardless of ' place; or in apparent reversal of the laws of life, it might spread its poison over the artistic will with the authority of some public evil. The poison, in my case, had mounted tbrou b a chain of racist injuries going back t o my childhood when a white policeman laughingly frightened me off the side walk. In 19?0 my creative lights went out, darkened finally by the harmful private effects of racism in my clean suburbia. But relief comes unexpectedly, from surprising sources. It came to me in the shy smiles of a three-year-old French girl , the same Alix for whom I wrote "Wishes." My irst literary recognition of the event is the end poem in this chapter and it was the key to my becoming a poet again.
II . A Key for a Poet "Any identifying marks?" the police would ask, if you reported a person missing. If you said "He's a poet, " your reply would be thought, at its best, unresponsive. Yet, as Thomas Mann observed, a poet has a mark on his brow. Its origin and its exact nature are mysteries, but its effect has made names like Keats and Whitman possessions of everyone who knows Englisb. The poems in this chapter concern that mark. Altbougb a poet, by definition, must write poetry witb considerable regularity, he must also-for reasons as common as rent and curiosity--do otber things. "A Poet Does Not Cboose to Run," like "To the Negro Children of Mount Vernon," shows me running for public office in New York during one of the school integration wars that flamed across the USA in tbe 1960' s. Both poems are based on my own experience of dangerous forms of revenge suf fered by Black people during that violent period. On the other hand, "ANegro Author" suggests how I, like most Black authors after be mid-1960's, had to struggle within the hard demands and slippery uncertainties of the þÿ r6 e6 s6 i6 loi6t le6 rary view that grew to be called The Black Aesthetic (the title of a book published in 1971, containing a long article of mine). Those "other things" done by a poet include his public readings of bis works, an activity that seems, to some
another, or by giving it the characteristics of that second thing. Either way, the borrowed features sharpen and vitalize the image without misrepresentation. The simplest poems need the fewest such effects. o. "Sarah' s Tears" and "Claire" : Re-reading them both, you find what simile? "hearts as tight as rubber bands," in the latter l. "Negro Children": Explain tbe first simile you find. 2. "Young Ones": ls "youth" in line, 3used metaphorical - ly? You could defend "yes" or "no." !r.rf to do both. E. (Discussion) Poems are especially suitable for a reader's serious play of mind and individuality, for, unlike the stuff of science, they do not usually permit absolute answers. Wandering guesses, half-whispered jokes, shy hesitations-- allere responses; and when, they follow a genuine effort to possess the poem, tbttJ are valuable. 1 . "JimmyPoo" : Explore the meaning of line 2, st. 5. 2. How much does new vooabulary affect the co mplexityof a poem? Compare "Jimmy Poo" and "Wishes" in this way. 3. "Claire" : Discuss the effect of "flatters" (line 10) . 4. Discuss news of scbool integration crises in New York, Jan.-May 1966 (see THE NEW YQ\U{ TIMES INDEX), when I planned a Black boycott of the •,town of Mt. Vernon. 5. "Young Ones": Senior class yearbooks (USA and Canada) printed this poem. Do parents know teenagers? e
Exercises A. (People: the first simple step) In each poem, identify the pe ople and their circumstances, including the sp aker. Estimate whether their b havior is true t o life. (Tiles will usually be shortened in these exercises.) o. "Jimmy Poo", In which •stanza does a new person appear? In the third, when a hand "s eemedto whisper." l . "Wishes": Alix Cordesse, a five-year-old in Fran ce , asked me for a poem. What clues t o her age appear? 2 . Sarah and Claire were small girls with whom I walked in London's "Kenwood [Park]" witb their mother in the autumn of 1978. What apparently caused each poem? 3. "Muslim Boy": Id n f the speaker, with evidence. 4. "N gro Children": My titles ere often functional, expressing my purpose or subject. This one tells what? B. (Basic happening and idea) Decide what they are. Do not stru gle to state the idea exactly; even poets avoid that. ny id s clos ly mixed with feeling (a min ing essential to most poetry) escape tbe grasp of exactness. o. 11Discovery": What happening has caused what ides? A boy has heard bis father cry, so he knows giants cry. 1 . "Accident'': What line best expresses the main idea? 2. "Wishes": What two lines in stanza 1 form tbe only wish that is certain to come true?
To the teacher (notes for Editor) My grammar and structure: Notes for A number of sentences have phrases and clauses in series. but they are controlled for relatively easy reading. Not only .•• but also is rather common. viii-ix Phrases to open sentences like "Either way" (p . 14, line 2). are not common . Student must sometimes refer to suffixes in CEp. L21,0. Exampl e of seemingly difficult sentence that is not difficult when one reads carefully: "A nuclear creative force •• . " on p . 25, lines 7-10 (and nucleus appears on P/ 26, line 4) . Careful punctuation in the use of commas should aid understanding. Points common to both prose and poems: Participle phrases are rather common . Careful syntactical structure should help in poems and in prose (even with sentences on pages 29 (final sentence) . _ and 3rd -. -~ 43 (2nd/sentences) 44 (final sentence), 57 (2nd sentence). Exercises (and discussion): Questions are usually aimed at promoting a basic understanding of the whole poem or of some rather difficult or crucial part. Spece allotment is less than the new Dec- 1981 plan (not on band during my writing) allows , because of my belief that reading the poem is more important than extra questions about it . "Poetic prose": Poetic unity of imagery is found in the prose , as in lines 16-19 , p. 57 (ring , dotted line , circle linked to meaning) . Words and phrases expl ained: in footn otes (175!), in context (32); and student is asked to look up (11) . Length of poems, varies from 6 to 49 lines . "Pre-reading questions": They are subordinated to , but are included in, chapter introductions that give insight into the whole pattern of the book.
To the student This book, containing almost a fourth of my published poems, reflects "a poet's mind." Tbe chapters gradually introduce principal ways in whicb a poet takes in his surroundings, changes them into ideas, and records bis sense of their reality. You will decide, I trust, that poetic language truly imitates the best functions of your own mind when, in setting up a whole event, idea, or picture, it shows strict care in its use of each word and phrase. If your feelings are drawn into the agreement because of emotionally attractive lines, your double benefit of a richer vocabulary and e firmer confidence in tbe value of poetr, will be secure. By achieving this benefit, your efforts will harmonize tbe considerations that my poems about children were meant for adults and that, as years passed, all my works became more complicated in tbougbt, if not in language. Thus they are, like problems in life, more quickly understood by persons who read exactly and "think twice," regardless of age. You will find my prose influenced by my long poetic habits, for it uses metaphors (just as you do) and similar styles--later explained. But from a poet's mind you naturally expect phrases like "the dust of common reason" and "the soil of an idea." This book, I hope, speaks for itself--and for poetry. J .A.E. V
I The publisher and the general editor envision the Broadside Critics Series as an -attempt to introduce a fairly uniform body of sustained criticism into the tradition of Black poetry. The Series is, in part, a reply to the unfeeling neglect with which the literary Establishment has long scorned the efforts of our ancestors and our contemporaries to record a racial legacy of truth and beauty. It is, more importantly, a response to the need of Black people for respectful, honest evaluations written by and for members of their own race. Along with our contributing critics , we view this responsibility as elevating and inspirational , as well as conducive to the highest standards of factual accuracy and critical integrity. Uniformity in the Series, however, will be realistic in its deference to variations in the styles and convictions of our critics. The exciting intellectual ferment among Black thinkers of the Seventies is being made possible only by diversity and independence of thought. Any differences in the format of books in the Series as it progresses will generally reflect the fact that this Decade of the Black Critic , in establishing itself , must yield to new life forces in the Black world. Those life forces are coming to us , as always, in the form of individual men--some of whom will contribute books to this Series. It is not our
lar: (l) vague "Black rhetoric" and other phrases (2) vague pronoun reference (3) repetition of words and unnecessary repetition. of ideas in the same paragraph (4) too long sentences (5) sentence fragments (6) unclear or confusing transitions .between paragraphs Footnotes and Bibliography: The pioneering nature of the series suggests that footnotes can be avoided. Should they be appropriate, however, the refer-- ences should be worked smoothly into the text itself'. Data in the bibliography should be complete and consistent in form. Copyrights and Permissions: Since Broadside Press cannot pay permissions fees, it will be the responsibility of the contributing critic to inform himself of the copyright status of all publ ished work that he quotes and to forward to the General Editor along with the compl eted manuscript letters from all copyright holders granting permission for such usage in the Broadside Critics Series.
Memoto BCS authors, Jan. 31, 1970 Length; 3. GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY. (Under this heading should come a. series of individual bibliographies, alphabetically arranged according to the poets' names, and each constituted. as follows.) Bibliography of Works by ______ (exhaustiveunless length is prohibitive, divided under the headings (a) Books, (b) Anthologies Containing the Author's Poems, (c) Essays, (d) Unanthologized Poems, (e) Broadsides, and (f) Tape Recordings. Bibliography of Works About ______ (exhaustive unless length is prohibitive, divided under the headings (a) Books, (b) Essays, and ( c) Other References. Each booklet should contain from 24 to 48 pages, a flexibility demanded by variations in the amount of work produced by the poets. Writing Style: Contributing critics should bear in mind the diverse audience to be served: from the general literate public up through readers with university backgrounds. In view of the fact that many high schools and colleges are adopting books on Black literature as required textbooks, the Broadside Critics Series should readily attract and hold a large audience. High school juniors and seniors, as well as students in collegiate Black Studies and American Studies programs, are best served by prone that is clear, concise, and coherently developed. without being oversimplified. Prose aimed at the intelligenceo t a bright high school senior xxx ahould fit the requirementos f our intendeda udience.
Memo to BC authors, Jan. 31, 1970 make every a temptto secure through biographical narratives fromthem.) 2 B. Critical analyses of the poet's representative works selected., giving insights not only into the concrete Black experience reflected, but also into the following matters whenever they are both interesting and pertinent: theme, form, point ot view. the several formal aspects of rhetoric, and related technical considerations. (Readersshould be stimulated to perceive the complexityof Black experience through awareness of the unforced complexities in Black poets' methods.) o. A summaryof (1) the poet's general characteristics th regard to subjects, themes, and styles; (2) his importance as a poetic craftsman thus characterized; and(3)his contribution in he tradition of Black poetry. (These evaluations should allow for the poet's probable future development.) D. group summary of the achievements of the several poets, including the following (1) the range of their life experiences, including their main differences and similarities in background; (2) the range of their subjects, theme, and styles, including a statement of those most commonly found; (3) as a group, their importance as poetic craftsmen; and (4) as group, their Black consciousness as expressed in their works, and. its contribution in the development of Black poetry.
To: All authors of the Broad.aide Critics Series From: James A. Emanuel, General Editor Date: January 31, 1970 Subject: Recommended .form and style of manuscripts treating several poets. The following recommendations have the purpose of saving timeand of achieving a reasonablyuniform series that will be instructive, interesting, and readable to the general public and to students. Our purpose of attracting Black readers in particular should be elevating and should express itself in a scrupulous concern that the Broadside Critics series maintain the highest standards of factual accuracy and critical integrity. Content: Each booklet in the Broadside Critics Series should sontain tbe following: 1. PREFACE (an explanation of (a) the aim Of tbe booklet., (b) the principle that justifies the grouping of the selected poets, and (c) tbe organization ot the contents of the booklet). 2. TEXT (beginning with a condensed exposition of the main historical and cultural forces at work during the productivity of the selected poets as a group; proceeding with a sequential treatment of those poets, limited to the following): A. A biographical account as detailed and full as available material will allow, in caaes where biographies are not already available. (Contributing critics, by urging upon living poets the literary historical signifiance of the Series, should
Lifelong Contribution to African American Literature by James A. Emanuel Pioneer Essays Urging the U.S.A. to Discover Black Literature • ‘A Glance at Negro Authors,’ The Ticker, annual literary supplement, Baruch School, The City College, CUNY, No. 10 (January 4, 1961) • ‘The Invisible Man of American Literature,’ Books Abroad, XXXVII, No. 4 (Autumn 1963), 371–374 Pioneer Courses and Scholarly Publications • Pioneer Course in Black Poetry, City University of New York: Argued for and taught at The City College of New York, 1966–67 • First Book on the Works of Langston Hughes: Langston Hughes, Twayne’s United States Authors Series, 123 (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1967) • Translator: Jacques Éluard's Nombreux Horizons, B85 (Paris: Les Éditions Internationales, 1970). Purpose, according to the Preface: ‘to encourage acceptance of the challenge that has long outraced the academy: full exploration of Negro writers.’ • First Courses in African American Literature Taught in Europe: - University of Grenoble, France, 1968–69 (Fulbright Invitation) - University of Toulouse, France, 1971–72, 1979–81 (Maître de Conférences) - University of Warsaw, Poland, 1975–76 (Senior Fulbright Professor) Anthologies and Institutional Advocacy • Pioneer Academic Anthology: Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in America, ed. with Theodore L. Gross (New York: Dutton, 1971) • Helped mandate required Black literature courses across New York State (1970) • Taught pioneering course to prepare white teachers to teach African American literature (Briarcliff College, 1969–70) • Pioneer Course in Black Fiction, The City College of New York, 1970–71 Editorial Work and Literary Innovation • General Editor: Broadside Critics Series (1971–75), featuring critics like Houston A. Baker, Bernard W. Bell, Addison Gayle, Haki R. Madhubuti, and William B. Robinson Poetic Form and Performance • Innovated practice of dating poems by composition and publication in The Broken Bowl (1983) and Whole Grain: Collected Poems, 1958–1989 (1991) • Created the ‘jazz-and-blues haiku’ genre in 1992, read at the Sorbonne in 1993, and performed with Chemmame Evanna in Paris (1995–96) Global Engagement and Teaching • Delivered lectures and readings for U.S. embassy-sponsored organizations across Europe and beyond • Taught American and comparative literature for decades: - The City University of New York: 1957–1984 - France: 13 years - Poland: 1 year

A Poet's Mind, Exercises II B

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