African American authors

Post by **annise** » July 4th, 2018, 4:46 am

There is an expanded list here viewtopic.php?f=1&t=70911 that is being kept up to date as works are identified and then recorded for LV.

I received via email a suggestion about us including more African American authors , They provided a list which I've been working on checking whether we have them. Or any PD ones we do not have , (a reminded that they need to be published before 1927 or declared PD by Project Gutenberg research for us to use. If you have any additions or I've missed any we have in the catalogue post a reply here

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Catalogued twice plus articles plus life and times

My Bondage and My Freedom (1855).http://web.archive.org/web/20081007231345/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DouMybo.html ? expaned to form life and times

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs (1861).Catalogued

Harriet Wilson's Our Nig (1859)Catalogued

Frank J. Webb’s 1857 novel, The Garies and Their Friends https://archive.org/details/gariesandtheirf00webbgoog
first African-American fiction to portray passing,

The Bondwoman’s Narrative, which was written by Hannah Crafts between 1853 and 1860. ?? published 2002 ??

Clotel; or, The President's Daughter (1853), considered to be the first novel written by an African American. It was based on the persistent rumor that president Thomas Jeffersonhad fathered a mixed-race daughter with his slave Sally Hemings. William Wells Brown (1814–84) Catalogued

short story "Le Mulâtre" ("The Mulatto") in 1837. It is the first known fiction by an African American, but as it was written in French and published in a French journal, it had apparently no influence on later American literature. Séjour never returned to African-American themes in his subsequent works.[17
Victor Séjour (1817–74) ? translation ? availabilty

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral Phillis Wheatley Catalogued

Biography of an American Bondman, By His Daughter Josephine Brown https://archive.org/details/biographyofameri00brow

Oak and Ivy, Paul Laurence Dunbar,When Malindy Sings (1906) Joggin' Erlong (1906) provide revealing glimpses into the lives of rural African Americans of the day. Though Dunbar died young, he was a prolific poet, essayist, novelist (among them The Uncalled, 1898 and The Fanatics, 1901)

Charles Waddell Chesnutt (June 20, 1858 – November 15, 1932) was an African-American author,

The Conjure Woman, and Other Conjure Tales (1899) Catalogued, at least the first tale
The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color-Line (1899) Catalogued
Frederick Douglass (1899) Catalogued
The House Behind the Cedars (1900) novel Catalogued
The Marrow of Tradition (1901), novel Catalogued
The Colonel's Dream (1905), novel Catalogued

Published posthumously[edit] ?????? PD

A Business Career (written in the 1890s; published 2005, University Press of Mississippi)
Mandy Oxendine (written in the 1890s; published in 1997)
Paul Marchand, F.M.C. (written in 1921; published 1998, University Press of Mississippi)
Evelyn's Husband (2005, University Press of Mississippi)
The Quarry (written 1928; published 1999, Princeton University Press)

Collection[edit]

Stories, Novels and Essays: The Conjure Woman, The Wife of His Youth & Other Stories of the Color Line, The House Behind the Cedars, The Marrow of Tradition, Uncollected Stories, Selected Essays (Werner Sollors, ed., Library of America, 2002) ISBN 978-1-931082-06-8.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Harper

Frances Harper - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (September 24, 1825 – February 22, 1911) was an African-American abolitionist, suffragist, poet and author. She was also active in ...

Forest Leaves, verse, 1845
Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects, 1854
The Two Offers, 1859
Moses: A Story of the Nile, 1869
Sketches of Southern Life, 1872
Light Beyond the Darkness, 1890
The Martyr of Alabama and Other Poems, 1894
Iola Leroy, or Shadows Uplifted, novel, 1892 Catalogued
Idylls of the Bible, 1901
In Memoriam, Wm. McKinley, 1901
Free Labor

In addition, the following three novels were originally published in serial form in the Christian Recorder between 1868 and 1888:[10]

Minnie's Sacrifice http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11053
Sowing and Reaping http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11022
Trial and Triumph http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11056

the life of Olaudah Equiano Catalogued [/quote]

Elizabby · Post by **Elizabby** » July 7th, 2018, 3:15 am

We have 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup - not sure if he wrote anything else that might be recordable by LV...

Post by **annise** » July 7th, 2018, 4:05 am

There's a few slave narratives in the catalogue , I'm not sure whether they would be considered as African American authors - they were mainly published by abolisionists - but I really don't know , I just noticed there didn't appear to be any in the emailer's list . Maybe we'll just make a seperate section- I'll try and remember any others that are actual "narratives" rather than white folk talking - I'm not making any judgement , Uncle Tom's Cabin made me anti slavery at an early age but it is a work of fiction.

Anne

ChuckW · Post by **ChuckW** » July 7th, 2018, 4:13 pm

I love this idea and would love to help, in whatever way I can, in creating a master list of some important texts we still haven't recorded. This is a really important project that I'd love to see come to fruition.

But with that said, I'd like to throw in a recommendation for the works of Oscar Micheaux, who I wrote about in this post way back when:

viewtopic.php?t=42190

EDIT: One other really awesome resource: the "African American authors" tag at HathiTrust!

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/Home?lookfor=%22%20African%20American%20author.%22&type=subject&inst=

Post by **annise** » July 7th, 2018, 4:45 pm

Great addition Chuck

Anne

Carolin · Post by **Carolin** » July 9th, 2018, 10:52 pm

Ive come across a few interesting texts
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61243
For example.

We are just completing the poems of ellen frances watkins haper too.

ChuckW · Post by **ChuckW** » July 10th, 2018, 6:03 am

For those who are curious, I created a master list of a bunch of potential projects with African-American writers. Please feel free to include your recommendations there (or adopt a project or two).

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=70911

MathewCox · Post by **MathewCox** » July 21st, 2018, 8:33 am

I am new here and I am very found on history of slavery, there is a special author I am looking about her biography and books, is Octavia Butler, someone can suggest me one of her books?

Post by **mightyfelix** » July 21st, 2018, 8:48 am

MathewCox wrote: ↑July 21st, 2018, 8:33 am I am new here and I am very found on history of slavery, there is a special author I am looking about her biography and books, is Octavia Butler, someone can suggest me one of her books?

If this is the Octavia Butler that you mean, you're extremely unlikely to find any of her works on LibriVox. LibriVox only records books that are in the public domain. According to this, she was born in 1947, and current US copyright law means that books published before 1923 are in the public domain. There are a few newer books that also are public domain, if their copyright wasn't renewed in good time, but that's harder to prove. In other words, it's almost certain that all of this woman's works are still under copyright, and LibriVox cannot legally record them.

However, I'm sure you'll find quite a lot of other very interesting works here dealing with the topic of slavery. You can do a keyword search in the LV catalog. You may find a new favorite author!

Cori · Post by **Cori** » July 21st, 2018, 3:08 pm

MathewCox wrote: ↑July 21st, 2018, 8:33 amI am new here and I am very found on history of slavery, there is a special author I am looking about her biography and books, is Octavia Butler, someone can suggest me one of her books?

I'd highly recommend asking at your local library if they have Kindred. Many libraries use Overdrive, which gives free access to copyright audiobooks.

Our catalog, as Devorah says, has a LOT of other very interesting stuff, though!

nekicia · Post by **nekicia** » September 21st, 2020, 2:44 am

I'm new and would like to be a reader of African American writers' works, especially. I saw this thread and was wondering if it would lead to some projects of which I could participate in. Please direct and/or advise. Thank you.

Post by **annise** » January 3rd, 2022, 3:51 pm

There is an expanded list and discussion here viewtopic.php?f=1&t=70911 .

Anne

neecheelok70 · Post by **neecheelok70** » July 21st, 2023, 9:55 am

I have done the Sarah Farro True love selection. Jim

Post by **knotyouraveragejo** » July 21st, 2023, 12:49 pm

Noted in the list in the other thread, Jim.

neecheelok70 · Post by **neecheelok70** » July 22nd, 2023, 12:41 pm

Sorry.