Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Anna Hartnell (Birkbeck, University of London)

Ed. by Christopher Hugh Gair, University of Glasgow
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

First circulation or publication 1965

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Autobiography (literary)

Resources

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X

is now widely recognized as a major landmark in American literature, and considered essential reading for anyone interested in African American literature, culture and politics. The text is the product of collaboration between Malcolm X, the controversial black nationalist leader who rose to prominence in the early 1960s, and the writer and journalist Alex Haley. It tells the remarkable story of Malcolm X’s personal, religious and political transformations, and is the most comprehensive text we have for understanding and interpreting Malcolm X’s life and work.

One only need glance at the contents page to realize that the text’s structure will bear out Malcolm’s sense that “my whole life had been a chronology of changes” (X 1968: 454).

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2808 words

Citation: Hartnell, Anna. "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 January 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1543, accessed 21 November 2024.]

Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X

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