The Undiscovered Paul Robeson: An Artist's Journey, 1898-1939 Hardcover - 2001

Summary

First line

Paul Leroy Robeson's soul as an artist was formed in a journey through life that began on April 9, 1898.

From the jacket flap

"Robeson . . . lives, overwhelmingly, in the hearts and minds of the people whom he touched, the people for whom he was an example, the people who gained from him the power to perceive and the courage to resist. It is not a sentimental question. He lived in our times, we live in his. . . . It is a matter of bearing witness to that force which moved among us." -James Baldwin

Paul Robeson was inarguably one of the most important figures of the twentieth century. As this unprecedented biography makes clear, the essential facts of his public life are near legendary. Actor, singer, scholar, and activist---- Robeson dominated his era. His father was an escaped slave; his mother, a descendent of distinguished freedmen. With a law degree from Columbia University, a professional football career, title roles in Eugene O'Neill's plays and in Shakespeare's Othello, and a concert and film career in America and Europe, Robeson redefined the black male image.

The Undiscovered Paul Robeson sets out to explore the connection between the artist's soul and the passions that ruled it. Layering decades of personal conversations, extensive research, and rich insights with previously unpublished excerpts from the private diaries and letters of Paul and Eslanda Robeson, Paul Robeson, Jr., gives us a deeply felt and brilliantly conceived portrait of his father's defining struggles, triumphs, and humanity.

Media reviews

Citations

• Booklist, 04/01/2001, Page 1441
• Choice, 09/01/2001, Page 126
• Kirkus Reviews, 02/15/2001, Page 243
• Library Journal, 05/01/2001, Page 89
• Multicultural Review, 12/01/2001, Page 81
• New York Times, 04/08/2001, Page 18
• Publishers Weekly, 03/05/2001, Page 72
• Reference and Research Bk News, 08/01/2001, Page 54