The Slave's Rebellion: Literature, History, Orature

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Fiction, History, Orature The Slave’s Rebellion Adélékè Adéè .kó . Slave’s Rebellion The Adéè .kó . “A lively and engaging book . . . that reminds us that ‘we can remove opposition and antagonism from the relations . . . that shaped late modern history only if we want to tell the Master’s version of how things came to be.’” —Olakunle George, Brown University “Located within the larger robust context of studies of slave narratives and novelizations of slavery, the book carves out a very distinctive space [by focusing on] slave rebellions. . . .The book could not have come at a better time.” —Tejumola Olaniyan, University of Wisconsin The rebellious slave haunts the black imagination. Episodes of slave rebellions such as Nat Turner’s are central to speculations about the path of black history and the goal of black spiritual struggles. Using fiction, history, and oral poetry drawn from the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa, The Slave’s Rebellion analyzes how writers reinterpret episodes of historical slave rebellion to conceptualize their understanding of an ideal “master-less” future.The texts range from Frederick Douglass’s The Heroic Slave and Alejo Carpentier’s The Kingdom of This World to Yoruba praise poetry and novels by Nigerian writers Adebayo Faleti and Akinwumi Isola. Each text reflects different “national” attitudes toward the historicity of slave rebellions that shape the ways the texts are read.This is an absorbing book about the grip of slavery and rebellion on modern black thought. Adélékè Adéè .kó . is Associate Professor of English and Chair of the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and author of Proverbs, Textuality, and Nativism in African Literature (1998). Blacks in the Diaspora—Darlene Clark Hine, John McCluskey, Jr., and David Barry Gaspar, founding editors Cover art by Moyo Okediyi. Courtesy of the artist. http://iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796 African American Studies Criticism INDIANA The Slave’s Rebellion Adeeko, Slave's Rebelion 5/5/05 3:56 PM Page i Blacks in the Diaspora Founding Editors John McCluskey, Jr. Darlene Clark Hine David Barry Gaspar Editor Claude A. Clegg III Advisory Board Kim D. Butler Judith A. Byfield Leslie A. Schwalm Tracy Sharpley-Whiting Adeeko, Slave's Rebelion 5/5/05 3:56 PM Page ii The Slave’s Rebellion Literature, History, Orature Adélékè Adéeko indiana university press bloomington & indianapolis Adeeko, Slave's Rebelion 5/5/05 3:56 PM Page iii This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404–3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800–842–6796 Fax orders 812–855–7931 Orders by e-mail iuporder@indiana.edu© 2005 by Adélékè AdéDko All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data AdéDkp, Adélékè. The slave’s rebellion : literature, history, orature / Adéléke AdéDko. p. cm.—(Blacks in the diaspora) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-253-34596-0 (alk. paper)—isbn 0-253-21777-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. American literature—African American authors—History and criticism. 2. African Americans—Intellectual life. 3. Nigerian fiction (English)—History and criticism. 4. Slave insurrections—Historiography. 5. Slave insurrections in literature. 6. Oral tradition—Caribbean Area. 7. African Americans in literature. 8. Oral tradition—Africa. 9. Slavery in literature. I. Title. II. Series. ps153.n5a285 2005 2004028902 1 2 3 4 5 10 09 08 07 06 05 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48–1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Adeeko, Slave's Rebelion 5/5/05 3:56 PM Page iv for qmqtáyp, adébqlájí, and adédiméjì Adeeko, Slave's Rebelion 5/5/05 3:56 PM Page v Adeeko, Slave's Rebelion 5/5/05 3:56 PM Page vi ...