Several scholarly works by Tracy are published

Several works written or edited by professor Steve Tracy of Afro-American Studies have been published recently by the Oxford University Press.

In December, the press issued “After Winter: Essays on the Life and Art of Sterling A. Brown,” co-edited by John Edgar Tidwell and Tracy. Exploring new directions in the study of Brown’s life and work, the book includes new and previously published essays that sum up contemporary approaches to Brown’s multifaceted works; interviews with his acquaintances and contemporaries; an up-to-date, annotated bibliography; and a discography of source material that extends the study and teaching of Brown’s poetry. Tracy put the discographies together and also interviewed Afro-American Studies professors John Bracey, Esther Terry and Michael Thelwell about their interactions with Brown.

Tracy also provided about 60 pages of introduction and scholarly materials for “John Henry: Roark Bradford’s Novel and Play,” published in November. Bradford’s 1931 novel and 1939 play dealing with the legendary folk hero John Henry were extremely influential in their own time but have long been unavailable or extremely hard to find. In the new collection, Tracy joined Bradford’s seminal works in a new critical edition to help contextualize both the novel and play, making these vital texts widely available again for scholars of folklore and African American literature.

The new volume includes an expansive introduction that explores Bradford’s life and work, critical responses to the novel and play, and a survey of John Henry’s pervasive influence in folk, literary, and popular culture. It also features a wide array of supplementary materials, including a selected bibliography and discography related to Bradford and John Henry; transcriptions of a number of folksong texts and recordings available during the 1930s; and a chronology of the lives of both Bradford and Henry.

Tracy’s essay, "Thanks, Jack, For That," is included in “Thriving on a Riff: Jazz and Blues Influences in African American Literature and Film,” published in November by Oxford University Press. The book is edited by Graham Lock and David Murray.

Tracy also reports that his volume “Chicago Bound: Writers of the Black Chicago Renaissance” has been accepted for publication by the University of Illinois Press, which has the manuscript in hand. He is also under contract with Oxford University Press for a book on the influence of the blues tradition on American literature.

Three papers Tracy presented at conferences last year have been published or are scheduled for publication. Among them are a paper he gave at the Conference on 20th Century Poetry in Wuhan, China, which was published my paper in the journal Foreign Literature.

Also, a paper and discography from his presentation at a conference August Wilson at the University of Kentucky are being published in a collection of essays on Wilson by the University of Iowa Press. Another paper from a conference on Richard Wright held in Paris has been earmarked for inclusion in a volume of selected essays from the conference, says Tracy.

Tracy will also be presenting at the James Baldwin Conference in Boston in March and at the Poe Bicentennial in Philadelphia later this year.

February 3, 2009.

E-mail story to a friendPrinter-friendly version

/more people/