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A story of triumph
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A recent seminar in the city took the audience on a journey across the globe to provide an overview of ``African-American literature and history''.
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Out of the huts of history's shame I rise
Up from the past that's rooted in pain I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind the nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise...
— ``Still I Rise'' by Maya Angelo
IT IS the story of the invincible human spirit, of a people who having suffered the most savage exploitation in history, have risen to claim their place in the sun. Denied freedom and education, theirs is a moving struggle to secure their place in American society.
Contributing immeasurably to the liberation of the African- American, by instilling a sense of pride in his culture and recording his anguish and anger, are the Black writers, past and present. At a time when the African-American literary history is in the process of being written, the seminar organised by the Department of English, University of Madras along with the Office of Public Affairs, American Consulate General, Chennai, the United States Educational Foundation in India and the South India American Studies Network, was both topical and informative.
Imaginatively visualised, it took the audience, at the Centenary Building, University of Madras, in less than four hours on a journey across the globe to provide an overview of ``African-American literature and history''. The academics who read the papers and the students who participated and performed in the event revealed an understanding of the subject that delighted (and surprised?) the chief guest, Dr. Robert Hamburger, Associate Professor of English, New Jersey University, New Jersey, and a Fulbright scholar.
Dr. C.T. Indra, Prof and Head, Department of English, University of Madras, and a Fulbright scholar, welcomed the gathering and introduced the chief guest. Ms. Seetha Lakshmi. R, Regional Officer (Southern Region) and Educational Advisor, USEFI, Chennai, spoke about the programme that was initiated by Senator Fulbright in 1946 and has since benefited hundreds of scholars in the U.S. and India.
In his keynote address, "From Double Consciousness to Village Literature", Dr. Hamburger gave an overview of the growth of African-American literature before he took up a more detailed discussion of Toni Morrison and her work. He highlighted the dual citizenship implied in the very notion of a hyphenated identity — that of being African-American. He said it illuminates the nature of her creative effort and can lead to an enhanced appreciation of her writing. Dr. Hamburger placed Morrison's work in context by briefly tracing the history of this literature. There was no African-American literature until the mid-19th century for the slave narratives were published only at that time. The slave culture into which these Africans were introduced threw up innumerable hurdles to their acquiring literacy, and to writing. The first masterpiece was Frederick Douglass' ``Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" (1845).
The next great work was W.E.B. DuBois' ``Souls of the Black Folk'', the seminal text in African-American intellectual history. Though DuBois explored the fundamental nature of his cultural identity, he did so using the language and literary forms of his oppressor.
Richard Wright, the next major writer's autobiography ``Black Boy'' and his masterpiece ``Native Son'' are powerful but "Native Son", like previous African-American works, is invaded by the alien voices it means to challenge.
After examining double consciousness in Ralph Ellison's ``The Invisible Man'', Dr. Hamburger dealt with Toni Morrison who drew support from the fact that she began writing at a time when a diverse and energetic culture already existed for African-American literature. Morrison was determined to create narratives free of the tension of double consciousness. In language, technique, choice of subject and treatment of characters, Morrison draws materials from her own culture and people in a way that was impossible for Black writers till fairly recently. Dr. Hamburger analysed Morrison's novels ``The Bluest Eye'' and ``Beloved'' in some depth to illustrate his points.
B. Sujatha, M.A. student, Department of English of the University presented a paper prepared by her and her classmate Sonoujam Dasobante Singh on ``The plays of August Wilson.'' Wilson emerged in the 1980s as a significant voice in American theatre. In almost all his plays from his first commercial success ``Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" to his latest work ``King Hedley II", he explores often in very subtle ways the mutating forms of the legacy of slavery.
In examining the history, politics and aesthetics in Alice Walker's fiction, Dr. Rajalakshmi Gopalan, Department of English, Quaid-e-Millat College for Women, Chennai, said Walker emerging in the 1970s follows in the footsteps of her predecessors and realistically portrays the politics of race, class and gender and their dehumanising effects.
Elaborating on her book ``Possessing the Secret of Joy'', she underlined Walker's exceptional ability to strike a delicate balance between the history and politics of her times on the one hand and the aesthetic sensibility on the other, which gives her works an extraordinary validity and human appeal.
While Dr. Prema Kasturi, Head, Department of History (Retired) Women's Christian College, spoke on "Situating Black Women in American History and Society", Dr. Bernard D' Sami, Prof. Department of History, Loyola College, traced the development of the ``Civil Rights Movement: From Protest to Participation'' explaining the important milestones. Dr. Kasturi pointed out that the Black woman has had the lowest status in American society and even today her wages are the lowest of all groups. Yet, thanks to their hard-fought battles for liberation, some Black women today occupy important positions in politics, law and other spheres. Their cry of liberation is ``I want the right to be Black and me''.
A very spirited poetry reading and ``Voices from African American theatre'' were presented by a group of students — Mary Yasmin Thattil, Pavithra Somasundaram, Tasneem Akbari, Nicola Jeremiah and Priya Joseph. Directed by Prof. P. Rajani, Tagore Chair for Theatre, Department of English, University of Madras, the very passionate enactment brought in the Black American flavours for the audience.
KAUSALYA SANTHANAM
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