The Harlem and Irish Renaissances
Language, Identity, and Representation
by Tracy Mishkin
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Drawing fascinating comparisons between two literary movements
for social justice, Tracy Mishkin explores the link between the
Irish Renaissance that began in the 1880s and the
African-American movement of the 1920s known as the Harlem
Renaissance.
Starting with evidence that Ireland’s Abbey Theatre tours of
the United States before World War I influenced such
African-Americans as Alain Locke and James Weldon Johnson,
Mishkin offers the first full-scale discussion of the historical
similarities and differences of the two movements. Both rose from
the ashes of history--from people suffering years of oppression
during which their native languages were lost or stolen--to
confront issues of language and identity; and both had to combat
negative mainstream representation of their people, all the while
debating how to create their own literature. Included throughout
is the work of women who participated in both movements but who
often have been marginalized in their histories.
Going beyond national boundaries, Mishkin takes the study of
interracial literary influence across the Atlantic and
establishes important parallels between the Harlem and Irish
Renaissances.
Tracy Mishkin is assistant professor of English
at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, and
editor of Literary Influence and African-American Writers.
1998. 160 pp. 6 X 9.
Notes, bibliography, index.
ISBN 0-8130-1611-8Cloth, $55.00
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From the foreword:
"A sensitive recuperation of a past cultural moment and a
contribution to our current one, Mishkin’s study both
participates in our present national conversation and prepares
the way for future ones."
"Looks at literary movements on two different continents and
from two different periods . . . and finds significant parallels
and interrelations between them. The effect is to illuminate
both. There is no other study like it, on this scale."--Richard
Bizot, University of North Florida
"Tracy Mishkin has written a meticulously-researched and closely-argued comparison of two major intellectual movements shedding light on each, as well as offering some insights into the social and historical underpinnings of these literary renaissances. . . . Perhaps what is most interesting about this book is the influence of the Irish Renaissance on the Harlem Renaissance. . . . Mishkin offers some astonishingly vivid parallels drawn from primary sources. This excellent study is a sober rejoiner to much of the burgeoning literature on 'whiteness' in the US that is not as historically or textually grounded as this thoughtful book."--Irish Studies Review
"This serious, knowledgeable, and enlightened book provides much telling information about the parallels between the Irish Renaissance and the Harlem one. . . . Mishkin generates a good deal of sharp insight about how they worked and how they compared to each other. . . . In a larger sense, this book is about reaching across cultural boundaries in the face of terrible historical conflicts and misunderstanding."--James Joyce Literary Supplement