Showing results by author "Nella Larsen" in All Categories

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives.

Light-skinned Black woman Irene Redfield encounters an old childhood friend - Clare - who is now "passing" as a White woman. Clare is married to a racist White man, who doesn't know she has African American blood. In spite of the danger of being found out by her husband and society at large, she finds herself helplessly drawn to Irene's world.

In Passing, Nella Larsen, a prominent voice of the Harlem Renaissance, delves into the intricate dynamics of friendship, identity, and race. Published in 1929, this captivating novel tells the story of two mixed-race women, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, who can seamlessly navigate between worlds. While Irene embraces her life in Harlem with her black husband, Clare chooses to marry a prejudiced white man. When Clare reappears in Irenes life after years apart, she reignites unsettling questions about identity and belonging. (Introduction by Elizabeth Klett)

Quicksand, a poignant novel by Nella Larsen, delves into the life of Helga Crane, a mixed-race schoolteacher in the American South during the 1920s. As the story unfolds, Helga makes a bold decision to abandon her teaching career and journey north to reconnect with her roots in Chicago. This semi-autobiographical tale captures Helgas tumultuous quest for identity, reflecting Larsens own experiences of navigating the complexities of her mixed heritage amid the pervasive racism of the era. Published in 1928, the novel is now in the public domain, bringing to life the rich struggles and triumphs ...

Nella Larsen's "Quicksand" paints a poignant portrait of Helga Crane, a young woman grappling with her mixed racial heritage in the 1920s. Caught between societal expectations and her yearning for identity, Helga navigates different settings.