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The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-Americ
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- Buy It NowThe Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism - GOOD
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eBay item number:276588647009
Item specifics
- Condition
- Brand
- Unbranded
- MPN
- Does not apply
- ISBN
- 9780195060751
- Book Title
- Signifying Monkey : a Theory of African-American Literary Criticism
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press, Incorporated
- Item Length
- 9.3 in
- Publication Year
- 1989
- Format
- Trade Paperback
- Language
- English
- Illustrator
- Yes
- Item Height
- 0.6 in
- Genre
- Literary Criticism
- Topic
- American / African American
- Item Weight
- 16.2 Oz
- Item Width
- 6.1 in
- Number of Pages
- 320 Pages
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Oxford University Press, Incorporated
ISBN-10
019506075X
ISBN-13
9780195060751
eBay Product ID (ePID)
18038291598
Product Key Features
Book Title
Signifying Monkey : a Theory of African-American Literary Criticism
Number of Pages
320 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
1989
Topic
American / African American
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Literary Criticism
Format
Trade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height
0.6 in
Item Weight
16.2 Oz
Item Length
9.3 in
Item Width
6.1 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
Dewey Edition
19
TitleLeading
The
Reviews
"Apart from suggesting new ways of looking at black literature, this original work is a singular contribution to linguistics, anthropology and rhetoric. Notwithstanding the considerable resources upon which he bases his case, Gates works with a lightness of touch and a style of reasoning that makes the exercise of following the construction of his argument most exciting and provocative."--The Tribune"Copiously researched, re-orients our understanding of American culture and letters."--Uzoma Esonwanne, University of Michigan"Perhaps the most important critical statement regarding the rhetorical underpinnings of a black narrative discourse. For a general graduate course on cultural theory, I have found no better introduction text on the topic."--David William Foster, rizona State University"An important book....The Signifying Monkey displays an impressive array of scholarship coupled with a wide-ranging knowledge of diverse materials and a visible creative energy which synthesises these into a coherent and convincing thesis....an immensely stimulating work which deserves a wide readership."--Sandra Harris, Reviews in American Studies"Eclectic, exciting, convincing, provocative, challenging....Gates gives black literature room to breathe, invents interpretive frameworks that enable us to experience black writing rather than label it in terms of theme or ideology. From this perspective his book is a generous, long-awaited gift....Like great novels that force us to view the world differently, Mr. Gates' compelling study suggests new ways of seeing."--John Wideman, The New York Times Book Review"Like the African-American trickster figure who circumscribes the shifting center of this most impressive work, Henry Louis Gates resists simplification.... Gates has provided the foundation for a potentially accessible, politically useful, and academically sophisticated discipline of "comparative black literature." He will clearly play an important role in determining whether that discipline realizes its potential." Journal of English and Germanic Philology"Brilliantly original. Besides the work of Houston Baker, I cannot think of a more exciting reassessment of black literature that has been published in many years. The Signifying Monkey has the feel of a seminal work, likely to reshape the course of black American literary criticism for years."--The Washington Post Book World"The appearance of The Signifying Monkey [is] one of the most significant events in the development of [African-American] studies in the next decade. Bold, ambitious, original....Brilliant...[it] deserves to be read widely."--W.J.T. Mitchell, Editor, Critical Inquiry"The Rosetta Stone of the American multi-cultural renaissance."--Ishmael Reed"Breath-taking in the scope of its argument and in the energy and insight that it brings to reading individual texts, the matrix of the [African-American] tradition, and the Signifyin(g) practice that binds the 'Afro' to the 'American' in [African-American] writing and speaking."--James Olney, Louisiana State University, "Perhaps the most important critical statement regarding the rhetorical underpinnings of a black narrative discourse. For a general graduate course on cultural theory, I have found no better introduction text on the topic."--David William Foster, rizona State University, "The singularity of this book and the pleasure it gives are due to thevery fruitful conjunction it manages to achieve....It is rarely the case thatwork on a marginalized corpus makes such a contribution simultaneously tolinguistics, rhetoric, and literary theory."--Jacques Derrida, "Apart from suggesting new ways of looking at black literature, this original work is a singular contribution to linguistics, anthropology and rhetoric. Notwithstanding the considerable resources upon which he bases his case, Gates works with a lightness of touch and a style of reasoning that makes the exercise of following the construction of his argument most exciting and provocative."--The Tribune "Copiously researched, re-orients our understanding of American culture and letters."--Uzoma Esonwanne, University of Michigan "Perhaps the most important critical statement regarding the rhetorical underpinnings of a black narrative discourse. For a general graduate course on cultural theory, I have found no better introduction text on the topic."--David William Foster, rizona State University "An important book....The Signifying Monkey displays an impressive array of scholarship coupled with a wide-ranging knowledge of diverse materials and a visible creative energy which synthesises these into a coherent and convincing thesis....an immensely stimulating work which deserves a wide readership."--Sandra Harris, Reviews in American Studies "Eclectic, exciting, convincing, provocative, challenging....Gates gives black literature room to breathe, invents interpretive frameworks that enable us to experience black writing rather than label it in terms of theme or ideology. From this perspective his book is a generous, long-awaited gift....Like great novels that force us to view the world differently, Mr. Gates' compelling study suggests new ways of seeing."--John Wideman, The New York Times Book Review "Like the African-American trickster figure who circumscribes the shifting center of this most impressive work, Henry Louis Gates resists simplification.... Gates has provided the foundation for a potentially accessible, politically useful, and academically sophisticated discipline of "comparative black literature." He will clearly play an important role in determining whether that discipline realizes its potential." Journal of English and Germanic Philology "Brilliantly original. Besides the work of Houston Baker, I cannot think of a more exciting reassessment of black literature that has been published in many years. The Signifying Monkey has the feel of a seminal work, likely to reshape the course of black American literary criticism for years."--The Washington Post Book World "The appearance of The Signifying Monkey [is] one of the most significant events in the development of [African-American] studies in the next decade. Bold, ambitious, original....Brilliant...[it] deserves to be read widely."--W.J.T. Mitchell, Editor, Critical Inquiry "The Rosetta Stone of the American multi-cultural renaissance."--Ishmael Reed "Breath-taking in the scope of its argument and in the energy and insight that it brings to reading individual texts, the matrix of the [African-American] tradition, and the Signifyin(g) practice that binds the 'Afro' to the 'American' in [African-American] writing and speaking."--James Olney, Louisiana State University, "Brilliantly original. Besides the work of Houston Baker, I cannot think of a more exciting reassessment of black literature that has been published in many years. The Signifying Monkey has the feel of a seminal work, likely to reshape the course of black American literary criticism foryears."--The Washington Post Book World, "Eclectic, exciting, convincing, provocative, challenging....Gates gives black literature room to breathe, invents interpretive frameworks that enable us to experience black writing rather than label it in terms of theme or ideology. From this perspective his book is a generous, long-awaitedgift....Like great novels that force us to view the world differently, Mr. Gates' compelling study suggests new ways of seeing."--John Wideman, The New York Times Book Review, "Breath-taking in the scope of its argument and in the energy and insight that it brings to reading individual texts, the matrix of the [African-American] tradition, and the Signifyin(g) practice that binds the 'Afro' to the 'American' in [African-American] writing and speaking."--James Olney,Louisiana State University, "Apart from suggesting new ways of looking at black literature, this original work is a singular contribution to linguistics, anthropology and rhetoric. Notwithstanding the considerable resources upon which he bases his case, Gates works with a lightness of touch and a style of reasoning that makes the exercise of following the construction of his argument most exciting and provocative."--The Tribune "Copiously researched, re-orients our understanding of American culture and letters."--Uzoma Esonwanne,University of Michigan "Perhaps the most important critical statement regarding the rhetorical underpinnings of a black narrative discourse. For a general graduate course on cultural theory, I have found no better introduction text on the topic."--David William Foster, rizona State University "An important book....The Signifying Monkeydisplays an impressive array of scholarship coupled with a wide-ranging knowledge of diverse materials and a visible creative energy which synthesises these into a coherent and convincing thesis....an immensely stimulating work which deserves a wide readership."--Sandra Harris,Reviews in American Studies "Eclectic, exciting, convincing, provocative, challenging....Gates gives black literature room to breathe, invents interpretive frameworks that enable us to experience black writing rather than label it in terms of theme or ideology. From this perspective his book is a generous, long-awaited gift....Like great novels that force us to view the world differently, Mr. Gates' compelling study suggests new ways of seeing."--John Wideman,The New York Times Book Review "Like the African-American trickster figure who circumscribes the shifting center of this most impressive work, Henry Louis Gates resists simplification.... Gates has provided the foundation for a potentially accessible, politically useful, and academically sophisticated discipline of "comparative black literature." He will clearly play an important role in determining whether that discipline realizes its potential."Journal of English and Germanic Philology "Brilliantly original. Besides the work of Houston Baker, I cannot think of a more exciting reassessment of black literature that has been published in many years.The Signifying Monkeyhas the feel of a seminal work, likely to reshape the course of black American literary criticism for years."--The Washington Post Book World "The appearance ofThe Signifying Monkey[is] one of the most significant events in the development of [African-American] studies in the next decade. Bold, ambitious, original....Brilliant...[it] deserves to be read widely."--W.J.T. Mitchell, Editor,Critical Inquiry "The Rosetta Stone of the American multi-cultural renaissance."--Ishmael Reed "Breath-taking in the scope of its argument and in the energy and insight that it brings to reading individual texts, the matrix of the [African-American] tradition, and the Signifyin(g) practice that binds the 'Afro' to the 'American' in [African-American] writing and speaking."--James Olney,Louisiana State University, "The appearance of The Signifying Monkey [is] one of the most significant events in the development of [African-American] studies in the next decade. Bold, ambitious, original....Brilliant...[it] deserves to be read widely."--W.J.T. Mitchell, Editor, Critical Inquiry, "Copiously researched, re-orients our understanding of American culture and letters."--Uzoma Esonwanne, University of Michigan, "Eclectic, exciting, convincing, provocative, challenging....Gates givesblack literature room to breathe, invents interpretive frameworks that enable usto experience black writing rather than label it in terms of theme or ideology.From this perspective his book is a generous, long-awaited gift....Like greatnovels that force us to view the world differently, Mr. Gates' compelling studysuggests new ways of seeing."--John Wideman, The New York Times BookReview, "Like the African-American trickster figure who circumscribes the shiftingcenter of this most impressive work, Henry Louis Gates resistssimplification.... Gates has provided the foundation ofr a potentiallyaccessible, politically useful, and academically sophisticated discipline of"comparative black literature." He will clearly play an important role indetermining whether that discipline realizes its potential." Journal of Englishand Germanic Philology, "Like the African-American trickster figure who circumscribes the shifting center of this most impressive work, Henry Louis Gates resists simplification.... Gates has provided the foundation of a potentially accessible, politically useful, and academically sophisticated discipline of"comparative black literature." He will clearly play an important role in determining whether that discipline realizes its potential." Journal of English and Germanic Philology, "An important book....The Signifying Monkey displays an impressive array of scholarship coupled with a wide-ranging knowledge of diverse materials and a visible creative energy which synthesises these into a coherent and convincing thesis....an immensely stimulating work which deserves a widereadership."--Sandra Harris, Reviews in American Studies, "Apart from suggesting new ways of looking at black literature, this original work is a singular contribution to linguistics, anthropology and rhetoric. Notwithstanding the considerable resources upon which he bases his case, Gates works with a lightness of touch and a style of reasoning thatmakes the exercise of following the construction of his argument most exciting and provocative."--The Tribune
Dewey Decimal
810/.9/896073
Synopsis
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s original, groundbreaking study explores the relationship between the African and African-American vernacular traditions and black literature, elaborating a new critical approach located within this tradition that allows the black voice to speak for itself. Examining the ancient poetry and myths found in African, Latin American, and Caribbean culture, and particularly the Yoruba trickster figure of Esu-Elegbara and the Signifying Monkey whose myths help articulate the black tradition's theory of its literature, Gates uncovers a unique system for interpretation and a powerful vernacular tradition that black slaves brought with them to the New World. His critical approach relies heavily on the Signifying Monkey--perhaps the most popular figure in African-American folklore--and signification and Signifyin(g). Exploring signification in black American life and literature by analyzing the transmission and revision of various signifying figures, Gates provides an extended analysis of what he calls the "Talking Book," a central trope in early slave narratives that virtually defines the tradition of black American letters. Gates uses this critical framework to examine several major works of African-American literature--including Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God , Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man , and Ishmael Reed's Mumbo Jumbo --revealing how these works signify on the black tradition and on each other. The second volume in an enterprising trilogy on African-American literature, The Signifying Monkey --which expands the arguments of Figures in Black --makes an important contribution to literary theory, African-American literature, folklore, and literary history., Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s original, groundbreaking study explores the relationship between the African and African-American vernacular traditions and black literature, elaborating a new critical approach located within this tradition that allows the black voice to speak for itself. Examining the ancient poetry and myths found in African, Latin American, and Caribbean culture, and particularly the Yoruba trickster figure of Esu-Elegbara and the Signifying Monkey whose myths help articulate the black tradition's theory of its literature, Gates uncovers a unique system for interpretation and a powerful vernacular tradition that black slaves brought with them to the New World. His critical approach relies heavily on the Signifying Monkey--perhaps the most popular figure in African-American folklore--and signification and Signifyin(g). Exploring signification in black American life and literature by analyzing the transmission and revision of various signifying figures, Gates provides an extended analysis of what he calls the "Talking Book," a central trope in early slave narratives that virtually defines the tradition of black American letters. Gates uses this critical framework to examine several major works of African-American literature--including Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, and Ishmael Reed's Mumbo Jumbo--revealing how these works signify on the black tradition and on each other. The second volume in an enterprising trilogy on African-American literature, The Signifying Monkey--which expands the arguments of Figures in Black--makes an important contribution to literary theory, African-American literature, folklore, and literary history., This groundbreaking study explores the relationship between the African and African-American vernacular traditions and black literature, elaborating a new critical approach located within this tradition that allows the black voice to speak for itself. Examining the ancient poetry and myths found in African, Latin American, and Caribbean culture, Gates uncovers a unique system of interpretation and a powerful vernacular tradition that black slaves brought with them to the New World. He uses this critical framework to reassess several major works of African-American literature, including Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, and Ishmael Reed's Mumbo Jumbo.
LC Classification Number
PS153.N5
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- r***0 (634)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseRecommended Seller with very fast shipping, excellent communication as the seller responded to all my messages, the book came exactly as advertised and was packaged very well. Another great thing, was I changed my mind and asked to return it and the seller quickly responded to my message and allowed me to return it without any hassle. Also, great prices and I would buy from again. Thanks for a great transaction!!The Pro Football Hall of Fame 50th Anniversary Book: Where Greatnes - GOOD (#275561126843)
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A lot of words
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- eBay automated feedback- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthOrder delivered on time with no issues
- r***0 (634)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseRecommended Seller with very fast shipping, excellent communication as the seller responded to all my messages, the book came exactly as advertised and was packaged very well. Another great thing, was I changed my mind and asked to return it and the seller quickly responded to my message and allowed me to return it without any hassle. Also, great prices and I would buy from again. Thanks for a great transaction!!The Pro Football Hall of Fame 50th Anniversary Book: Where Greatnes - GOOD (#275561126843)
- 0***a (557)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseThis item arrived as described, fast and packaged very well . I only received half of my order on one day so I contacted the seller who and with fast and a great help. I received the rest of my order a few days later due to the carrier missing the third box in his vehicle. I am a very happy customer who has done business with in the past multiple time and will do business with again in the future. I trust and like this seller. You will be happy with the value and condition of your purchase.Alton Brown: EveryDayCook - Hardcover By Brown, Alton - GOOD (#274545202865)
- u***a (260)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseI have purchased from them many times. This time, and on occasion I have had an issue with the product, but the seller is graceful about correcting errors. They do a huge volume and sometimes have sent the wrong book or one of their multiples that does not match the description. With swift communication, the seller always resolves the issue. The shipping speed & packaging is excellent. I will continue buying from this seller!Moving Pictures - Mass Market Paperback By Terry Pratchett - ACCEPTABLE (#256674790061)