Ulysses in Black: Ralph Ellison, Classicism, and African American Literature

by Patrice D. Rankine

In this groundbreaking work, Patrice D. Rankine asserts that the classics need not be a mark of Eurocentrism, as they have long been considered. Instead, the classical tradition can be part of a self-conscious, prideful approach to African American culture, esthetics, and identity. Ulysses in Black demonstrates that, similar to their white counterparts, African American authors have been students of classical languages, literature, and mythologies by such writers as Homer, Euripides, and Seneca.

Ulysses in Black closely analyzes classical themes (the nature of love and its relationship to the social, Dionysus in myth as a parallel to the black protagonist in the American scene, misplaced Ulyssean manhood) as seen in the works of such African American writers as Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, and Countee Cullen. Rankine finds that the merging of a black esthetic with the classics—contrary to expectations throughout American culture—has often been a radical addressing of concerns including violence against blacks, racism, and oppression. Ultimately, this unique study of black classicism becomes an exploration of America’s broader cultural integrity, one that is inclusive and historic. Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Magazine

Genres: Literature, Literary Criticism

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2006

Reviews

[David Withun · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Michael North · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a librarian in a research library, and as a Classics major undergrad, I was curious about why Classicists and Black Studies scholars were interested in Ralph Ellison’s interest in Homer (who is still one of my all-time favorite authors). I have also read a lot of books by and about African-Americans, history and literature, so this book added to that. Not a spoiler, but Rankine discusses something called Classica Africana, which is the study of how some African-American authors have used or referred to Greek and Roman Classical literature in their own writings, ranging from Phillis Wheatley to Ralph Ellison to Toni Morrison. This is all very revelatory, and it will change how I read some books. However … I am not an academic, and some of the lit-crit rhetoric he uses starts to go quickly over my head, and I’m not sure I agree with some of his conclusions (and maybe I don’t agree with or understand some of his “proofs”). Anyway, I am not writing this as a Classicist, just as an average schmo interested in what’s going on in a field I find intriguing.