Anthony Reed: In Conversation

January 6, 2016

In a recent conversation with Yale Daily News journalist, Bess Connolly Martell, Anthony Reed discussed the field of black experimental writing, his work on “phonographic poetry”, the importance of the study of literature and the humanities.

Professor Reed recently won the William Sanders Scarborough Prize for his book “Freedom Time: The Poetics and Politics of Black Experimental Writing.” The prize, which is given for an outstanding scholarly study of African American literature or culture, was announced last month.

An excerpt from the article is below:

What are the political implications of black experimental writing?

I argue in the book that black experimental writing is writing that, so to speak, “thinks” differently, and so asks readers to reconceive the categories through which we think of black writing and black life. The book stresses the importance of the thought that emerges beyond the boundaries of acceptable thought — as transformative. If one has to get outside of the racial structures that govern our lives in order to fully engage and grapple with these works, one starts to develop a different sense of what history, literature, or freedom might be beyond our present consensus.

For the full text of the article go to: http://news.yale.edu/2016/01/06/conversation-anthony-reed-importance-study-literature-and-humanities

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