African American Literature Series

The earliest African American writings frequently bore witness to the trauma of the slave trade, resistance to bondage, and fight against oppression, but these literary expressions also reflected cultural traditions created by fusing African, European, and American artistic practices. As the tradition developed, writers embraced multiple genres, including songs, poetry, sermons, speeches, narratives, antislavery tracts, letters, and petitions. This series, the first university press series devoted to the African American literary tradition, invites proposals for monographs, edited collections, and annotated editions that feature innovative new research from a variety of historical, theoretical, and critical perspectives.