A collection of twenty-six pieces of short fiction by America's finest black women writers includes both famed authors of the nineteenth century and the finest writers of today, each of whom has a special insight and artistic vision to communicate. Original.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Ranging from works by the largely unknown (Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Jessie Redmon Fauset) to those of the famous (Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker), this collection of 27 short stories by African American women is impressive equally for its marvelous array of characters and for a range of settings that include post-Civil War plantations and the contemporary inner city. Although only one story, Harper's "Two Offers," dates from the last century (1859), as a whole the chronologically arranged tales underscore some recurring concerns of black women: abandonment by men, the maintaining of spiritual strength under the most adverse circumstances the search for identity and self-respect. As the stories move toward the present, the predominantly female protagonists move from denying to celebrating their heritage. In Alice Dunbar-Nelson's "The Stones of the Village" (1910), for instance, a young, black lawyer passes as white, while S.A. Williams's "Tell Martha Not to Moan" (1968) celebrates, as the Hamers put it in their informative introduction, "the pattern of unflagging support of black mothers for their daughters." Complete with a short biography of each author, this is a rich sampler of the voices, narrative techniques and life experiences of African American women writers.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This anthology of short stories from the past and present features fiction by top writers like Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, and Rita Dove as well as upcoming authors. Themes include family love, erotic love, and the complexities of relationships.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The power this book had over me is indescribable!!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Centers of the Self: Stories by Black American Women, from the Nineteenth Century to the Present (Paperback)
Centers of the self is a compilation of most of my favorite black american women authors, such as Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, Dorothy West, Jamaica Kincaid, and numerous others who I never heard of until I read this book. The stories are short but made an indelible impression on me. It is truly an unforgetable anthology, which people have been sleeping on. Do yourself a favor and get it. You'll be more than glad that you did!!!!
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