Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American Literature

304 Pages·2013·6.64 MB·English

by  Emily J. Lordi

Black Resonance

Black Resonance
Iconic Women Singers
and African American Literature
emily j. lordi
Rutgers University Press
new brunswick, new jersey, and london
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Lordi, Emily J., 1979–
Black resonance : iconic women singers and African American literature /
Emily J. Lordi.
pages cm. — (American Literatures Initiative)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8135-6250-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8135-6249-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8135-6251-3 (e-book)
1. American fiction—African American authors—History and criticism. 2. African
American women singers—In literature. 3. African American women in literature.
4. Music in literature. I. Title.
PS153.N5L68 2013
810.9’896073—dc23
2012051444
A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Copyright © 2013 by Emily J. Lordi
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 106
Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair
use” as defined by U.S. copyright law.
Visit our website: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu
Manufactured in the United States of America
A book in the American Literatures Initiative (ALI), a collaborative
publishing project of NYU Press, Fordham University Press, Rutgers
University Press, Temple University Press, and the University of Virginia
Press. The Initiative is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
For more information, please visit www.americanliteratures.org.
For my parents

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Black Resonance 1
1 Vivid Lyricism: Richard Wright and Bessie Smith’s Blues 27
2 The Timbre of Sincerity: Mahalia Jackson’s Gospel Sound
and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man 66
3 Understatement: James Baldwin, Bessie Smith,
and Billie Holiday 99
4 Haunting: Gayl Jones’s Corregidora and Billie Holiday’s
“Strange Fruit” 137
5 Signature Voices: Nikki Giovanni, Aretha Franklin,
and the Black Arts Movement 173
Epilogue: “At Last”: Etta James, Poetry, Hip Hop 209
Notes 227
Index 275

Acknowledgments
A recent book by Anthony Heilbut quotes Aretha Franklin as saying,
“I’m sentimental, I don’t forget.” I know what she means and for that
reason have looked forward to writing these acknowledgments for years.
I am proud that this project began at Columbia University. Robert G.
O’Meally, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Ann Douglas, Brent Hayes Edwards,
Robin D. G. Kelley, Marcellus Blount, and Monica Miller not only fos-
tered this particular work but also continue to inspire me with their
exemplary scholarship, writing, teaching, and style. To have trained with
them is to never have to wonder if what we do matters; their political
commitments are as clear as they are complex. My debt to Bob O’Meally
is happily profound. A mentor in the truest sense of the word, he spent
hours in conversation, invited me into intellectual and artistic commu-
nities, and essentially made a place for me in this profession long before
I warranted one. He is the most generous scholar I know and the best
example of Ralph Ellison’s dictum that the secret of the game is to make
life swing. Thank you.
Several colleagues at Cornell, where I worked as a visiting assistant
professor in the English Department from 2009 to 2011, gave me well-
timed support and valuable advice. Thanks to Ellis Hanson, Grant
Farred, Shirley Samuels, Dagmawi Woubshet, Rayna Kalas, Jeremy Brad-
dock, and Margo Crawford. Thanks especially to my students at Cornell,
who provided such a rich foundation for my teaching career. Since com-
ing to UMass Amherst in 2011, I have been welcomed and supported by
too many people to name, but I especially appreciate the guidance of