Margins Speaking to Margins

At a time when late capitalism grasps (and gasps) towards fascism globally and white supremacist anti-immigration grievance is on the rise, ""Margins Speaking to Margins: Multinational Perspectives on African American Literature,"" edited by Dr. Rafael Miguel Montes and Dr. Ajit Kumar, is right on time as it audaciously considers, rightly, the humanity of Black diasporic people through the lens of Black women's literary production from Harriet Jacobs to Toni Morrison and Jamaica Kincaid to Wangari Maathai and Rita Dove. The title itself is a deft trickster move by the editors (Drs. Montes and Kumar), for these creatives on both sides of the Atlantic (or page) have centered Black peoples' expansive and varied experiences and stories that have reshaped the literary landscape and redirected across waters and nations academic discourse from enslavement to the Harlem Renaissance (New Negro) and Black Arts movements to literatures produced from the African, Caribbean, and South Asian diasporic imaginary. What emerges from this acute academic treatment is an abundant, scholarly anthology of an ever-evolving transnational discourse on Black humanity and the necessity of its centering. The scholars herein do not approach their subjects from the white gaze holding us in the periphery but provide adroit multidimensional literary analyses, the scope of which is global and as varied and interconnected as the first-world peoples are vis-à-vis our contiguous histories and struggles. Professor Tony Medina Howard University In her seminal work, ""Can the Subaltern Speak,"" Gayatri Spivak raised the question of whether the marginalized can have a voice of their own and speak against the dominant power structure. ""Speaking Margins to Margins"" attempts to answer Spivak's question by focusing on black American women's experiences. [...] The importance of the book in hand lies in manifesting as a possibility to understand that the margins to which Black American women were relegated are also oftentimes simultaneously a site of empowerment and utterance. [...] By writing from the margin, they have been able to challenge dominant narratives, expose societal injustices, and offer alternative visions of the world. When exploring the intersection of race, gender, and class to illuminate the complex experiences of Black women, the selected authors highlight the unique challenges faced by Black women, such as sexism, racism, and economic inequality. [...] The virtue of the book organized around a dominant concept such as marginalization elicits fresh and multiple ways from different texts and experiences of looking at the dialogic and discursive paradigms of marginality. [...] By speaking from the margin, Black American women writers have made significant contributions to American literature and culture. [...] Overall, the book underscores the role of a selection of Black American women authors in redefining African American literature by addressing complex issues and discussions of identity, community, personal growth and other social and cultural concerns. Professor Dr. Cyrine Kortas MECAM Researcher at the LAD unit at FLSHS Merian centre for advanced studies in the Maghreb University of Gabes, Tunisia Just a look at its table of contents assures the reader that this is an extraordinary book, both in its surprisingly wide range of perspectives and the seriousness with which its authors approach the critical task. Clearly this is a volume which should be on a shelf in every academic library, casting new light on African American literature from widely various directions. Professor Emerita Marilyn Nelson University of Connecticut