James Weldon Johnson and Arna Wendell Bontemps: A Reference Guide by Robert E. Fleming (review)

Book Reviews269 the properties of logic and its usefulness, however limited. Stoppard's theatricality, his use of comedy to convey his ideas, his concern with the relativity of perspective and the limitations of logic, all suggest that Stoppard is concerned with the need to understand and act in a world where one's best intentions and actions at most achieve only a partial realization. The comic matrix shapes Stoppard's morality in the same way that comedy traditionally shapes the perspective toward any action; it is implicit criticism of wrong or failed action, and at the same time an affirmation that all is not yet lost, that there is some joy to be rescued from this failure, some lesson to be learned. I would suppose that Dean has thought this through herself. Her book certainly implies this conclusion, though it stops short of clearly sayingso. If I am wrongin this assumption, then again I can only point out the fact that it needs a clear and concise ending that draws together and analyzes the various themes suggested in it. That's the only way to prevent people like me from reaching the wrong conclusions. Despite this, Tom Stoppard: Comedy as Moral Matrix is certainly worthwhile for anyone interested in Stoppard. While it is possible to disagree with her on a number of individual emphases (for instance, that there is no "angst, no despair lurking beneath the surface of Rosencrantz[and Guildenstem Are Dead]"), Dean's discussion is nearly always suggestive, interesting, and readable. MARK SIEGEL University of Wyoming Robert E. Fleming. James Weldon Johnson and Ama Wendell Bontemps: A Reference Guide. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1978. 149p. Robert E. Fleming has developed quite a reputation for detecting what needs to be done in the literary world and following through forthwith with a quality text (whether article or book) that takes care of the problem. Recently he turned his skillful eye to omissions in Black American Literary Bibliography and came up with a fine text, James Weldon Johnson and Ama Wendell Bontemps: A Reference Guide. The Guide isdivided into twosections, the firstdevoted toJohnson, the second to Bontemps. The introduction to the first section is a thorough, engaging capsulation of Johnson's literary and political career. It carries the reader swiftly from Johnson's birth to his death with frequent glimpses along the way at Johnson's numerous accomplishments, those acclaimed and thosedisclaimed. Theintroduction ends with attention to Johnson's artistic ability, an ability which more scholars are beginning to appreciate and acknowledge. Fleming's introduction to Bontemps, on the other hand, though sweeping, is not as fast-paced as his introduction to Johnson. This is primarily because the remarks are laden with undertones of tragedy. In fact, the introduction sounds most like a report of the literary leanings of a tragic black American writer, and suggests that Bontemps' whole life may have been more tragic than the untimely death of James W. Johnson in an automobile accident in 1938. That Bontemps producedso much but reaped so little is tragic, adding urgency to Fleming's observations that "thereis still much to be done, both in biography and in criticism of his varied literary works." While the introductions to both writers offer completelists of the publications of each, the body of each section offers annotations of writings about each writer, the 270ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW Johnson entries covering the years between 1905 and 1976, the Bontemps ones the years between 1926 and 1976. The entries themselves are rich, generous samplings that confirm statements made in the introductory sections: in Johnson's case, that critical reception of his works ranged from "generally polite if limited" comments based upon Johnson's social and political stature, to serious critical attention to the "artistic dimensions" of his works; in Bontemps' case, that "other than reviews, Bontemps has received scant critical attention, much of which does little more than suggest fruitful approaches for future critics." The only problem readers will have with Fleming's Guide is determiningwhich annotations are completely his and which the reprinted words of reviewers, critics, etc. Quotation marks sometimes help to distinguish, but frequently the reader is confused. Though Fleming anticipates these problems in a...