Robert G. O'Meally
Teoksen The Jazz Cadence of American Culture tekijä
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Image credit: Faculty image from Columbia University
Tekijän teokset
By introduction and notes Robert G. O'Meally Frederick Douglass - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An… 3 kappaletta
Antagonistic Cooperation: Jazz, Collage, Fiction, and the Shaping of African American Culture (Leonard Hastings Schoff… (2022) 3 kappaletta
The Jazz Singers, a Smithsonian Collection 2 kappaletta
Associated Works
Merkitty avainsanalla
Yleistieto
- Syntymäaika
- 1948-12-31
- Sukupuoli
- male
- Kansalaisuus
- USA
- Koulutus
- Stanford University (BA)
Harvard University (PhD) - Ammatit
- Professor of Comparative Literature
- Organisaatiot
- Columbia University
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Kirja-arvosteluja
Palkinnot
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Associated Authors
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- Teokset
- 11
- Also by
- 3
- Jäseniä
- 188
- Suosituimmuussija
- #115,783
- Arvio (tähdet)
- 3.9
- Kirja-arvosteluja
- 2
- ISBN:t
- 24
- Kielet
- 1
It took me longer than I expected to finish this book for a couple of reasons. One was simply the fact that taking my time, pausing often to think about the examples (and reread other works, listen to some music, look up some art) made a slower read far more rewarding. The other main reason is that a couple of other books I read while reading this one led me back to this concept and made me reread parts of this book again. Reading a new anthology of Zora Neale Hurston's essays and reviews had me bouncing back and forth between books. To a lesser degree the same held true for a biography of Lorraine Hansberry I was also reading.
In establishing the idea of antagonistic cooperation as he uses it O'Meally doesn't just show the process in jazz jam sessions, or even similar examples from other areas of life, he also cites thinkers, writers, and artists from throughout history. This is not to imply that twentieth century African American cultural use of AC is no more than a continuation of what came before. He shows that the idea, broadly speaking, has been mentioned before or at least hinted at without forming a complete concept. In other words, at its core it is an important element in much art through time. What makes it different and so much more of an intentional and important aspect here has to do with the history of Blacks in America, how displaying this friendly (for the most part) aggressiveness helped not only the ones playing but the community as a whole. Creating a space for unfettered creativity and freedom, often in a space and form that whites didn't understand or appreciate, at least not at first.
The previous paragraph is part of my takeaway from this first reading and I hope I didn't misrepresent O'Meally's argument. But even if I am less than perfectly accurate in my understanding so far my comments should illustrate a far more important aspect of the work. This book made me think, made me want to understand better by putting it in my words so that I could use these ideas to gain better perspective on future works I will read, listen to, look at, and watch. I am also far more curious about process now. I have always been interested in what happens where art meets society, but I have often been focused on the reception of that art. This has me wanting to revisit old ideas I have had and approach them from a different perspective.
More than anything, I simply enjoyed reading this book. I can't even say that about many of my favorite nonfiction books. I enjoy what I learned, I enjoy applying ideas I learned, but I don't necessarily enjoy the actual reading of the book. I not only know that I will be reading this one again but I am looking forward to it. And I also know that I will be referring to it often when I am reading other books.
I highly recommend this to both academics and nonacademics who are interested in the arts in general, African American arts in particular, and especially the intersection of that art with society as a whole. This offers something for those in specific fields such as literature, music, and art but is ideal for someone in area studies.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (lisätietoja)