Call & Response: The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition

This comprehensive, chronological anthology of African and African American literature asserts that there is a distinctly black literary and cultural aesthetic, one that originated in the oral traditions of Africa and was kept alive during the American slavery experience. This text represents the centuries-long emergence of this aesthetic in poetry, fiction, drama, essays, speeches, sermons, criticism, journals, and the full range of song lyrics from the spiritual to rap.

• Produced in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution, the audio CD is a one-of-a-kind collection of many of the poems, chants, and songs included in the book.