D. Quentin Miller's Books

A Criminal Power

James Baldwin and the Law

By: D. Quentin Miller

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A Criminal Power

James Baldwin and the Law

By: D. Quentin Miller

James Baldwin, one of the major African American writers of the twentieth century, has been the subject of a substantial body of literary criticism. As a prolific and experimental author with a marginal perspective-a black man during segregation and the Civil Rights era, a homosexual at a time when tolerance toward gays was not common-Baldwin has fascinated readers for over half a century. Yet Baldwin's critics have tended to separate his weighty, complex body of work and to examine it piecemeal. "A Criminal Power: James Baldwin and the Law" is the first thematic study to analyze the complete scope of his work. It accomplishes this through an expansive definition and thorough analysis of the social force that oppressed Baldwin throughout his life: namely, the law. Baldwin, who died in 1987, attempted suicide in 1949 at the age of 25 after spending eight days in a French prison following an absurd arrest for "receiving stolen goods"-a sheet that his acquaintance had taken from a hotel. This seemingly trite incident made Baldwin painfully aware of what he would later call the law's "criminal power." Up to now, the only book-length studies to address Baldwin's entire career have been biographies and artistic "portraits." D. Quentin Miller corrects this oversight in a comprehensive volume that addresses and unifies all of Baldwin's work. Miller asserts that the Baldwin corpus is a testament to how the abuse of power within the American legal, judicial, and penal systems manifested itself in the twentieth century. D. Quentin Miller is professor of English at Suffolk University in Boston.

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Page Count

200

Published Date

ISBN 10

0814252893

ISBN 13

9780814252895

The Routledge Introduction to the American Novel

By: D. Quentin Miller

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The Routledge Introduction to the American Novel

By: D. Quentin Miller

The Routledge Introduction to the American Novel provides a comprehensive and engaging guide to this cornerstone literary genre, reframing our understanding of the American novel and its evolving traditions. This volume aims to engage productive classroom discussion, including: What differentiates the American novel from its European predecessors and traditions from other parts of the world? How have the related myths of the American Dream and the Great American Novel affected understanding of the tradition over time? How do American novels by or about women, racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, and members of lower social classes challenge the American cultural monomyth? How do experimental novels and eco-conscious novels alter the American novel tradition? Rethinking historical trends and debates surrounding the American novel, this text delivers a persuasive case for why it’s important to reevaluate the American novelistic tradition. The Routledge Introduction to the American Novel offers a much-needed update to the history and future of this literary form.

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Page Count

143

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Published Date

ISBN 10

1040035582

ISBN 13

9781040035580

Understanding John Edgar Wideman

By: D. Quentin Miller

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Understanding John Edgar Wideman

By: D. Quentin Miller

A complete overview of an innovative and analytical author who rose from poverty Among the many gifted African American authors who emerged in the 1970s and 80s, John Edgar Wideman is one of the most challenging and innovative. His analytical mind can turn almost any topic into an intellectual adventure, whether it is playground basketball, the blues, the prison experience, father-son relationships, or the stories he lived or heard growing up in the impoverished section of Pittsburgh known as Homewood. In Understanding John Edgar Wideman, D. Quentin Miller offers a comprehensive overview of Wideman's writings, which range from the critically acclaimed books of the Homewood Trilogy to lesser known writings such as the early novels A Glance Away and The Lynchers. Notably Miller includes the first scholarly analysis of Writing to Save a Life, Wideman's recently published meditation on the military trial and execution of the father of civil rights martyr Emmett Till. In his fiction, nonfiction, and works that artfully combine both forms, Wideman has employed a multilayered and often difficult writing style in order to explore a wide range of topics. Miller tackles such topics as African American folk history, the intersection of personal and public history, the confluence of oral and written traditions, and the quest for meaning in nihilistic urban settings where black families struggle against crime, poverty, and despair. Miller also shows how Wideman's singular personal history is interwoven into his writings. His impressive accomplishments, including an Ivy League education and numerous literary honors, have come alongside family tragedies. By the time his sixth novel was published, both his brother and son were serving life sentences for murder, a source of anguish that he wrestled with in Brothers and Keepers and Fatheralong. Wideman writes with such authority on so many subjects that readers frequently have no idea what to expect with a new publication. Understanding John Edgar Wideman is thus a necessary guide to a prolific, varied, and essential oeuvre.

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Page Count

158

Publisher

Univ of South Carolina Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1611178258

ISBN 13

9781611178258

Book's by D. Quentin Miller

A Criminal Power

A Criminal Power

The Routledge Introduction to the American Novel

The Routledge Introduction to the American Novel

Understanding John Edgar Wideman

Understanding John Edgar Wideman

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