In late 1986, at Cornell University, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and ten other scholars convened a meeting to discuss the development of a special project, what they then called, The Norton Anthology of Black American Literature.  

 Then, in April 1987, at a conference in Philadelphia, Gates proudly announced: “In a few years, we shall at last have our very own Norton anthology.” 

 Well, it took more than a few years, but in 1996, the field of African American literary studies got, at last, our very own Norton.

 You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions—a podcast about popular and critical responses to African American novels and more.

 For more than a century now, scholars and artists have edited and co-edited anthologies featuring Black artistic writing. James Weldon Johnson’s 1922 The Book of American Negro Poetry, Alain Locke’s 1925 The New Negro, Amiri Baraka and Larry Neal’s 1968 Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing, Toni Cade Bambara’s 1970 The Black Woman: An Anthology. Hey, the list goes on and on with literally hundreds of Black literature anthologies. 

  When it comes to shaping pedagogical possibilities in the field of African American literary studies, for more than three decades now, we have to give special mention to The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. The collection, which includes works by more than 130 Black writers, has been adopted in hundreds of classrooms across the country.  Moreover, the book is now in its third edition, which is a rarity for African American literature anthologies.  

 Without the existence of the 1996, 2003, and 2014 editions of the Norton Anthology of African American Literature, scholars may have had a harder time convincing students and fellow colleagues in English departments that Black literature constituted such a rich tradition stretching back to the 18th century, since before the founding of the United States. Indeed, the Norton, the African American Norton, provides a powerful gateway experience into whole realms of Black literary production.  

 During the 1980s, leading up to the publication of the Norton, scholars of African American literature expended considerable time and energy researching and defining traditions of Black writing. The Norton was hardly the final word. But, this collection, with its revised and updated editions, co-edited by a group of esteemed and accomplished specialists in the field, remains a landmark achievement in forming a field of African American literary studies. 

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This episode was written by Howard Rambsy. The episode was edited by Elizabeth Cali.

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Remarkable Receptions is part of the Black Literature Network, a joint project from African American literary studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the History of Black Writing at the University of Kansas. The project was made possible by the generous support of the Mellon Foundation.  For more information, visit blacklitnetwork.org.