The Victim as Criminal and Artist: Literature from the American Prison"This first history of prison literature, featuring the first extensive bibliography of works by American convicts, presents a revealing view of America as seen from the bottom. Franklin redefines American literature, its history, and literary criteria. Arguing that Afro-American culture is central rather than peripheral to our literature, Franklin traces the influence of slave songs and narratives from the convict work song through I am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang to the Autobiography of Malcolm X to the poetry of the Attica rebels. In addition to rediscovering dozens of first-rate unknown or forgotten authors, Franklin shows the impact of imprisonment on such major writers as Jack London, Chester Himes, Malcolm Braly, Julian Hawthorne, Agnes Smedley, and especially Herman Melville, whose fiction is given a striking reinterpretation. Here is a landmark work for anyone interested in American literature, Afro-American culture, Marxist theory, penology, and the relations between crime and art"--Jacket. |
Contents
Songs of Slavery | 73 |
A History of Literature by Convicts | 124 |
Two Novelists of the American Prison | 181 |
Copyright | |
4 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
actually Afro-American American animal appeared artist Autobiography become began beginning Black Blues body Braly called century chapter City collective comes common Confidence-Man convict course crime criminal critical culture death describes detective developed Douglass early edition escape example experience eyes face fact fiction final forced freedom gang gives hand Henry Himes human imprisonment individual John killed kind labor later learned literary literature lives look Malcolm means Melville narrative narrator Negro never night novel original Penitentiary person Poems poetry political Press prison published readers San Quentin served shows slave slavery social society songs South story tells tion turns United University vision voice walls woman women workers writing written York young