African American Writers and Classical Tradition

“This book is a magisterial and masterful treatment of sophisticated Black literary artists who deployed the deep and rich resources of Greek and Latin classical texts. The complex phenomenon of Afro-classicism is laid bare for all to apprehend and appreciate!”—Cornel West, Princeton University

“Traditionally, African American literature has been treated like an orphan, shifted from one special-interest home to another where only a few can get that extra serving of porridge. Rarely has the genre been treated as seriously as by Cook and Tatum. Knowing them, I'm sure that this excellent book, African American Writers and Classical Tradition, is the result of many hours of deliberation. They debunk for all time that African American literature is monotraditional.”—Ishmael Reed

“This outstanding work moves from the era of slavery to slavery’s long aftermath by concentrating on African American writers whose work bears the strongest imprints of classical learning, whether in a mode of intellectual appropriation, satirical distance, or critical tension. Eminently readable, African American Writers and Classical Tradition offers far-reaching and compelling conclusions alongside insightful interpretations of important literary and rhetorical texts. Erudite but never pedantic, judicious but never compromising, this book exhibits the highest standards of literary scholarship.”—John T. Hamilton, Harvard University

“This is not only a timely and important book about an important subject. It is also a book that is truly original in content and style alike. It makes new connections and introduces new materials, and it thinks in new ways about the meaning of knowing the classics. It is written with human and intellectual imagination, it is smart, and it is a pleasure to read. What is more, its reach includes the theory and methodology of reception studies and comparative literature. In its approach, and in its subject matter, it is a book about mediation, triangulation, and the enormous creative force of the indirect.”—Constanze M. Güthenke, Princeton University

2010 Outstanding Academic Title, CHOICE