Telling Our Stories Continuities and Divergences in Black Autobiogra
Telling Our Stories investigates the continuities and divergences in selected Black autobiographies from Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. The stories of slaves, creative writers, and political activists are discussed both as texts produced by
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Telling Our Stories Continuities and Divergences in Black Autobiographies By
ADETAYO ALABI
TELLING OUR STORIES
© Adetayo Alabi, 2005. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2005 978-1-4039-6787-9 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-53033-5 ISBN 978-1-4039-8094-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781403980946 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Alabi, Adetayo. Telling our stories : continuities and divergences in Black autobiographies / by Adetayo Alabi. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. 1. American prose literature—African American authors—History and criticism. 2. African Americans—Biography—History and criticism. 3. Autobiography—African American authors. 4. African Americans— Intellectual life. 5. African Americans in literature. I. Title. PS366.A35A44 2005 810.9⬘492009296073—dc22
2004059356
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: April 2005 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America.
To my father, Prince Ajibade Alabi Who tells me his story Even after death To my mother, Mrs. Marian Alabi Who tells me her story Even when so far away And to other story tellers For telling stories For telling us we need to listen
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Contents
Preface
ix
Acknowledgments
xi
1. Introduction: The Autobiographical Genre in Black Societies
1
2. Theorizing Race, Theorizing Blackness
15
3. Postcolonial Theory and Black Literatures
35
4. Caliban, Is that You?: Slave Narratives and the Politics of Resistance
49
5. Different, Yet Related: Black Creative Autobiographers in Dialogue
75
6. Communal Resistance and Subjectivity: Black Activists in Racialized Societies
103
7. Writing Another Life: The Constructedness of the Autobiographical Genre
139
Appendices
153
Bibliography
161
Index
173
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Preface
This book investigates the continuities and divergences in selected Black autobiographies from Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. The selected autobiographies of slaves, creative writers, and political activists are discussed both as texts produced by individuals who are in turn products of particular societies at specific periods and as interconnected texts. The
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