A collection of sixteen tales about High John the Conqueror, the traditional trickster hero of blacks during and immediately after the time of slavery.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The 16 segments of this collection are filled with the laudable escapades of High John the Conqueror, a fellow about whom slaves told trickster stories (that somehow never reached the ears of white owners). In one tale, which vividly illustrates the truism "knowledge means power," John (who is determined to be the smartest slave on the plantation) sits under the kitchen window nightly, listening to Master and Missy's conversations. Each night Master outlines a different task John will be assigned the following day. When Master goes to inform John of the task, John either has the job underway or completed. Master, believing John to be omniscient, bets the plantation on the slave's ability. What follows that bet (and courses through all these stories) is a combination of remarkable folktelling with the ironic circumstances wrought by human beings making slaves of other human beings. A superior companion to Afro-American Folktales edited by Roger D. Abrahams. A Richard Jackson Book. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
Do you ever have a bad day? Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Master, High John, Big House, Old Boss, Sis Goose, Old Massa, The Mean Man of the Swamps, Brer Fox, Old Missy New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Do you ever have a bad day? Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Master, High John, Big House, Old Boss, Sis Goose, Old Massa, The Mean Man of the Swamps, Brer Fox, Old Missy New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
10
books
cite this book:
See all 10 books citing this book
- A Necessary Fantasy?: The Heroic Figure in Children's Popular Culture (Children's Literature and Culture) (Vol 18) by Dudley Jones on page 47, and page 50
- Fair Is Fair by Sharon Creeden on page 128
- Fair Is Fair by Sharon Creeden on page 149
- Rooted in the Chants of Slaves, Blacks in the Humanities, 1985-1997 by Donald Franklin Joyce on page 55
- What Book!?: Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop by Gary Gach in Back Matter
See all 10 books citing this book
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
So You'd Like to...
|
|
