Ebony rising : short fiction of the greater Harlem Renaissance era /

This wonderful collection of 52 short stories and tales from the Harlem Renaissance period (1912-40) offers a variety of literary pieces from 37 black Americans, writers both widely read and unknown, male and female. So in addition to Zora Neale Hurston's "Muttsy," which concerns a gambler who temporarily turns his life around in order to win the woman he loves, one finds S. Miller Johnson's "The Golden Penknife," the tale of a scorned man who murders his former lover. Gable supplements the short fiction with useful supplementary materials: an introduction by Darryl Dickson-Carr (English, Florida State Univ.); brief biographical sketches of each of the authors; information on the exact genre(s) in which each author specialized; a list of sources for more short fiction produced by these writers; a checklist of thematic issues for each story included; and a select list of references about the Harlem Renaissance era as a whole. Those seeking a more thorough understanding of this important literary period will particularly appreciate these additional elements. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. C. N. Ijeoma Pennsylvania State University, Abington Campus

Librarian and scholar Gable's Harlem Renaissance fiction anthology is the most comprehensive and dynamic to date, containing 52 short stories by 37 writers that span 27 years, from Hope Deferred by Alice Dunbar-Nelson, published in 1914, to Girl, Colored by Marian Minus, published in 1940--two stories, interestingly enough, about work, sacrifice, and survival. Seeking breadth and variety rather than the era's greatest hits, Gable has created a lively spectrum of works by the famous and overlooked alike that address myriad subjects--poverty, family, work, race, love, violence, migration, faith, and politics--in diverse styles. Gable has focused on stories that have never before been anthologized, and taken pains to illuminate the social and historical context of each tale by presenting them chronologically in conjunction with enlightening time lines that pointedly keep a running count of each year's lynchings. This genuine literary treasure trove showcases radiant, clever, melodramatic, funny, suspenseful, and affecting stories by Angelina Weld Grimke,ean Toomer, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Nella Larsen, Arna Bontemps, Rudolph Fisher, Richard Wright, and Chester Himes. --Donna Seaman Copyright 2004 Booklist

Ranging from sf to political satire to traditional fiction and written by luminaries like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jean Toomer, this anthology of 52 stories selected by librarian and independent scholar Gable represents the Harlem Renaissance at its best. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.