Afromodernisms : Paris, Harlem and the Avant-Garde

This book stretches and challenges current canonical configurations of modernism by considering the centrality of black artists, writers and intellectuals as core presences in the development of a modernist avant-garde; and by interrogating 'blackness' as an aesthetic and political category at critical moments during the twentieth century.

Persuasively argues for a black Atlantic literary renaissance and its impact on modernist studiesThese 9 new chapters stretch current canonical configurations of modernism in two key ways: by considering the centrality of black artists, writers and intellectuals as key actors and core presences in the development of a modernist avant-garde; and by interrogating 'blackness' as an aesthetic and political category at critical moments during the early twentieth century. This is the first book-length publication to explore the term 'Afromodernisms' and the first study to address together the fields of modernism and the black Atlantic. Key Features:Sets a new agenda for the study of blackness and modernismOpening essay from Tyler Stovall on Black Modernism and an Afterword from Bill LawsonIdentifies key locations of modernism: Harlem, Paris and the CaribbeanAddresses the question of gender, often overlooked in black Atlantic scholarship