Essays by Uzzie Cannon, Jonathan Dittman, Ronald Dorris, Frédérick
Dumas, Sarah Mantilla, Richard Schur, Anthony Stewart, Robin G. Vander,
and Sarah Wyman Percival Everett (b. 1956) writes novels, short stories,
poetry, and essays, and is one of the most prolific, acclaimed, yet
underexamined African American writers working today. Although to date
Everett has published eighteen novels, three collections of short
fiction, three poetry collections, and one children's book, his work has
not garnered the critical attention that it deserves. Perhaps one of the
most vexing problems scholars have had in trying to situate Everett's
work is that they have found it difficult to place him and his work
within a prescribed African American literary tradition. Because he
happens to be African American, critics have expectations of so-called
authentic African American fiction; however, his work often thwarts
these expectations. In Perspectives on Percival Everett, scholars engage
all of his creative production. On the one hand, Everett is an African
American novelist. On the other hand, he pursues subject matters that
seemingly have little to do with African American culture. The operative
word here is "seemingly"; for as these essays demonstrate, Everett's
works fall well within as well as outside of what most critics would
deem the African American literary tradition. These essays examine
issues of identity, authenticity, and semiotics, in addition to
postmodernism and African American and American literary
traditions--issues essential to understanding his aesthetic and
political concerns.
