Black Writers Abroad: A Study of Black American Writers in Europe and Africa

The first in-depth examination of African American writers who left the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries as exiles or expatriates, this book discusses who left and why, where they went, and whether or not they returned. Most importantly, this study examines what impact exile had on these authors' literary work and careers as well as on African American literary history. Born within the context of bondage and slavery, African American literature grew out of the vibrant anti-slavery movement in which thousands of slaves escaped to the free Northern United States, Canada, and Great Britain. The fugitives were encouraged to write about their experiences, giving rise to African American literature by writers who viewed their existence in terms of exile
Moreover, the social and political conditions arising from slavery left the legacy of racism alive and resulted in an extended theme of exile in black American literature. Both the idea that racial acceptance could be achieved only in some countryother than the United States and the reality of exile appear in many literary representations, attitudes, and actions of black writers well into the 20th century
(Ph.D. Dissertation, SUNY Buffalo, 1979, revised with new preface and index)

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Examines the African American writers who left the U.S. in the 19th and 20th centuries as exiles or expatriates, why they left, where they went, and whether or not they returned. It discusses what impact exile had on their literary work and careers as well as on African American literary history. The text puts forth the idea that this literature was partially born within the context of a people and its writers who lived, for the most part, in slavery and bondage and thus were encouraged to write about their experiences from the viewpoint of exile. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)