Reading Notes Week 14 Part A&B

Reading Notes 

Week 14

 Part A&B

• James Baldwin was an African American novelist that lead the rest with his prose stylists during the twentieth century. His most famous work included poetry laced with "the classics of English literature and the tones of biblical prophecy, combine personal reflection with a wider view of social justice"(pg.735). 
• As a youth Baldwins stepfather was a preacher and he was very involved in the church at a young age and was some way shunned because of his later involvement in secular literature. Although he did stay in close relationship with several churches over time and even preached when he was still a young man. 
• Also don't let me forget he was one of the icons of the civil rights movement. 
• In 1943 he was expected to go take care of his mother and siblings when he received the news of his fathers death but instead he moved to Greenwich Village in lower Manhattan to work as a writer and met other older writers and here in the place he "became aware of his homosexuality"(pg.735). 
• Leopold Sedar Senghor a poet who was also the founder of the movement Negritude and the first ever president of independent Senegal. His main subject was the personal and social conflicts between Europe and Africa. 
• A part of the poem "Black Women" is you could feel the pain in the words of the poem and the repeating of" naked black women" was used to further the point of the disrespect shown to black women and how they were subjected to that image only being naked. "Moaning under the hands of the conqueror, Your deep contralto voice is the spiritual song of the Beloved, Naked woman, dark woman"(pg. 680-681). 
• Very moving line because it showed how the black woman was the strongest through this whole poem because of the trails told. Also the disgust of the imagery of someone who conquered you and your people and they take advantage of you because they see you as "a black woman and beautiful"