African American literature advice

[Poutine]

Hello everyone,

I'm here to ask you for some much appreciated advice. I have a keen interest in African American literature and I need to formulate a thesis proposal on a specific topic within this genre but I'm finding it difficult to choose a theme on which to focus.

I'm interested in post-slavery writing and how remnants of the politics of slavery manifest themselves in later writing. My favorite authors within this genre so far include Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker and Toni Morrison.

I would like, if possible, some reading recommendations for the portrayal of African American women in [white or] African American literature. Also, any thoughts on particular areas of focus that could be drawn from these works would be incredibly useful.

I'm in urgent need of your help so all suggestions are welcome.

Thank you very much.

[motherhubbard]

The Known World by Deward Jones

http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780060557553/The_Known_World/index.aspx

This is not post slavery, but it has some really interesting female characters. One is a white skinned woman who is really black and owns slaves. Another is a black woman who owns her husband's slaves after he dies. The husband was a former slave. there are some family and community dynamics that make this a really rich story. But, it may not be what you are looking for.

[mono]

Definitely Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman, Walter White, and Jessie Fauset, and all those Harlem Renaissancers, and Maya Angelou, too. :)

[Poutine]

Thanks to you both for some great suggestions. I plan on looking into the authors you referred to in detail.

Following on from your comments, does anybody know of any other authors/texts that deal predominantly with racial passing?

If they were from the Harlem Renaissance, that would be a bonus, but I'd also be interested in works from later/earlier periods if there are any that come to mind.

Thanks again for your input. I really appreciate it :)

[Modest Proposal]

My favorite book on passing, and I believe the first 'passing' novel, is 'The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man' by James Wheldon Johnson. Fantastic short novel in my opinion.

[kelby_lake]

'A Raisin in The Sun' is a play written by a black woman (Lorraine Hainsbury) in the 1950's; it's about a black family.

Also look at James Baldwin's stuff.

[husker du]

I would check out Cane by Jean Toomer. A large part of it is focused on individual black women in the south. I think it is one of the most overlooked/underappreciated American novels. It blew my mind when I first read it. It is unique and well-worth checking out.

Also, Passing by Nella Larsen is narrated by a black woman and is about black women who try to pass for being white so that they can take part in different social circles.

Both are from the Harlem Renaissance era. Also, they're both relatively short novels so that might help you out. Highly recommended!

[Babbalanja]

Colson Whitehead's cerebral debut novel, The Intuitionist, deals with a black woman who works as an elevator inspector. It's Pynchon-style fiction that might lack some of the sentimentality of the writers mentioned in the OP. But its comments on marginalization and upward mobility are worth reading.

I also enjoyed Ishmael Reed's satire Mumbo Jumbo. Black consciousness in the Jazz Age is portrayed as the Jes Grew virus, which threatens to become pandemic.