Criminal Genius in African American and US Literature, 1793–1845

Download or read book Criminal Genius in African American and US Literature, 1793–1845 written by Erin Forbes and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2024-02-06 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did creative genius develop in tandem with the criminalization of Blackness in the early United States? In Criminal Genius in African American and US Literature, 1793–1845, Erin Forbes uncovers a model of racialized, collective agency in American literature and culture. Identifying creative genius in the figure of the convict, the zombie, the outlaw, the insurgent, and the fugitive, Forbes deepens our understanding of the historical relationship between criminality and Blackness and reestablishes the importance of the aesthetic in early African American literature.