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By A. Yemisi Jimoh
The University of Tennessee Press
Through storytelling, music and literature have always shared a
common bond and upheld a conversation-exchanging characters,
borrowing themes, stealing lines. But in a new book about the intersection
between music and fiction, associate professor of English Yemisi
Jimoh examines a more subtle dialogue.
Looking at 20th century African American novels-from Wallace Thurman's "The Blacker the Berry" to Toni Morrison's "Sula"-Jimoh explains how the philosophies behind spirituals, blues and jazz music inform authors about society and become metaphors for ways of living in it. She goes on to show how authors take those metaphors and add flesh-creating characters who embody the social and political spirit of the music and who act out the conflicts and paradoxes of life as an African-American.
While "spiritual" characters long for freedom, they anticipate their reward only in the next life, Jimoh suggests. "Blues" characters embody the paradox of being legally free in a society that denies them social or political power. They rely on the collective wisdom of their community to define their identity and their place in the world. Finally, "jazz" characters represent a radical rejection of collective ideals-a desire to shape and express themselves individually.