New Essays on Song of Solomon

The essays collected here, written by leading critics of Toni Morrison’s work, exemplify the fresh theoretical and cultural perspectives that have been brought to bear upon African American texts in general and upon Song of Solomon in particular. They reveal the complexities of a deceptively straightforward novel and spark renewed interest in what has proven a pivotal text by one of the most gifted authors this nation has produced.

• Focuses on a pivotal novel by one of the greatest contemporary writers (Nobel prize 1996) • Presents a range of theoretical and critical perspectives on Song of Solomon • Blends critical and theoretical insightfulness with historical specificity

1. Introduction Valerie Smith; 2. From orality to literacy: oral memory in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon Joyce Irene Middleton; 3. Call and response: voice community and dialogic structures in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon Marilyn Sanders Mobley; 4. Knowing their names: Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon Marianne Hirsch; 5. The postmodernist rag: political identity and the vernacular in Song of Solomon Wahneema Lubiano.