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'bitter With The Past But Sweet With The Dream': Communism In The African American Imaginary

Historical Materialism, Volume 95
By Cathy Bergin
Series: Historical Materialism
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
'Bitter with the Past but Sweet with the Dream' explores the complex relationship between African American writers and Communism in mid-20th century America. Cathy Bergin focuses on three seminal novels by Richard Wright, Chester Himes, and Ralph Ellison, analysing how Communism was critiqued not as inadequate to black political identity, but for refusing to fully engage with it. The book sheds light on the intertwining of black political agency and American Communist ideologies during the Depression era.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$10200

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This title is ideal for readers interested in African American literature, political history, and cultural studies, particularly those keen to understand the nuanced intersections of race and ideology in American arts and culture.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

An engaging, wide-ranging, and groundbreaking reexamination of the relationship between African American writers and the communist movement in the US.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The legacy of the relationship between African American writers and Communism in the US is a contested one. In Bitter with the Past but Sweet with the Dream, Cathy Bergin argues that in three novels, by seminal mid-century authors (Richard Wright, Chester Himes and Ralph Ellison), Communism is not dismissed as incapable of meeting the demands of black political identity, but is castigated for its refusal to do so.

Bergin draws on the complex formations black political agency presumed and reproduced by American Communism during the Depression.

Series: Historical Materialism

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781608466399

Publisher: Haymarket Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 26 July 2016

Country: United States

Imprint: Haymarket Books

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 222

Collections

Arts & Culture Cathy Bergin Education & Reference Non-Fiction Politics & Current Affairs Series: Historical Materialism

About the Author

Cathy Bergin (DPhil (2004) is a Senior Lecturer in the Humanities Programme at the University of Brighton.

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