Remembering the Past in Contemporary African American Fiction

Providing close readings of more than 20 novels by writers including Ernest Gaines, Toni Morrison, Charles Johnson, Gloria Naylor, and John Edgar Wideman, Byerman examines the trend among African American novelists of the late 20th century to write about black history rather than about their own present. Employing cultural criticism and trauma theory, Byerman frames these works as survivor narratives that rewrite the grand American narrative of individual achievement and the march of democracy.

Keith Byerman is professor of English and women's studies at Indiana State University