C. W. Chesnutt

Heather Sowards (Ohio University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.5: African American Writing and Culture of the United States.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Philathia Bolton (University of Akron), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), A Yemisi Jimoh (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Dates

Born 20 Jun 1858
Died 15 Nov 1932
Activity 1880-1932

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Cultural Identities

African American

Activities

Primary

Essayist
Novelist
Story-writer

Other

Biographer
Lecturer
Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Chesnutt's Works

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Born on June 20, 1858 in Cleveland, Ohio, Charles Chesnutt was the first son of a small-town grocer and his life was typical of freed mulattos in a newly “renovated” South. Living under the ever-present color lines fueled Chesnutt’s desire to reach the public through fiction and he became a pioneer for African American writers. Credited as one of the first black men to achieve critical acclaim; Chesnutt’s collections of short stories entitled

The ConjureWoman

(1891) and

The Wife of His Youth and Other Color Line Stories

(1899) give special attention, for the first time, to the lives of black men and women post slavery. Following up his short stories with three novels,

The House Behind the Cedars

(1900),

The Marrow ofTradition

(1901), and

The Colonel’s Dream

(1905), Chesnutt…

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2659 words

Citation: Sowards, Heather. "C. W. Chesnutt". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 March 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=848, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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