African, Native, and Jewish American Literature and the Reshaping of Modernism

This book examines literature by African, Native, and Jewish American novelists at the beginning of the twentieth century, a period of radical dislocation from homelands for these three ethnic groups as well as the period when such voices established themselves as central figures in the American literary canon.

"Through her knowledge of African, Native, and Jewish American literatures, her high regard for these three ethnic groups and her understanding of modern texts, Kent effectively shows why the works of these three ethnic groups belong among the works of modern authors. Not only does she provide a clear, authoritative viewpoint, but she also incorporates historical context and images to provide support for her claims. This is a book that offers a fresh take on modernistic views, leaving the reader with a unique concept of connection among African, Native, and Jewish American literatures and their impact on early modern and contemporary literature." - International Journal of Multicultural Education"Kent joins critics like Werner Sollors, Delia Konzett, and Christopher Schedler in the effort to bring ethnicity and race into the conversation about modern texts. This book explores how the fiction of African, Jewish, and Native American authors participated in the new contestations of self and history that defined the modern in American culture- valuable contribution to modernist studies." - Lise Kildegaard, Associate Professor of English, Luther College

"Kent's text challenges readers and critics to reconsider the place of these so-called minority writers on the margins of the American mainstream and, instead, demands that these works and writers be welcomed into the modernist canon. This convincing and solidly argued book constitutes an important and valuable contribution to modernist criticism and will require revision of the categorization of African American, Native American and Jewish American literatures of the early twentieth century." - John D. Kalb, Associate Professor of English, Salisbury University

ALICIA KENT is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Michigan-Flint, USA.