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The Negro in Illinois: The Wpa Papers
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The Negro in Illinois: The Wpa Papers Paperback - 2015

by Brian Dolinar (Editor); Contribution by Arna Bontemps; Contribution by Jack Conroy


From the publisher

The Negro in Illinois was produced by a special division of the Illinois Writers' Project, one of President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration programs. Headed by Harlem Renaissance poet Arna Bontemps and white proletarian writer Jack Conroy, The Negro in Illinois employed Richard Wright, Margaret Walker, Katherine Dunham, Fenton Johnson, Frank Yerby, Richard Durham, and other major black writers living in Chicago. The authors chronicled the African American experience in Illinois from the beginnings of slavery to the Great Migration. Individual chapters discuss various aspects of public and domestic life, recreation, politics, religion, literature, and performing arts. After the project's cancellation in 1942, most of the writings went unpublished for more than half a century--until now. Editor Brian Dolinar provides an informative introduction and epilogue which explain the origins of the project and place it in the context of the Black Chicago Renaissance.

Details

  • Title The Negro in Illinois: The Wpa Papers
  • Author Brian Dolinar (Editor); Contribution by Arna Bontemps; Contribution by Jack Conroy
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 336
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher University of Illinois Press
  • Date 2015
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index
  • ISBN 9780252080937 / 0252080939
  • Weight 1.32 lbs (0.60 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.84 x 7.51 x 0.76 in (24.99 x 19.08 x 1.93 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
    • Cultural Region: Midwest
    • Cultural Region: Upper Midwest
    • Ethnic Orientation: African American
    • Geographic Orientation: Illinois
  • Library of Congress subjects Illinois, History
  • Dewey Decimal Code 305.896

About the author

Brian Dolinar teaches in the department of African American studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is the author of The Black Cultural Front: Black Writers and Artists of the Depression Generation.