Ishmael Reed Summary

Reed, Ishmael (1938—) Ishmael Reed, regarded as one of the greatest satirists in America since Mark Twain, is also one of the best known multi-faceted writers of the twentieth century; his titl... Read more

A novelist, journalist, and playwright, American writer Ishmael Reed (born 1938) has been cited by critics as among the greatest contemporary African American literary figures of his generation.Accord... Read more

Ishmael Reed was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the son of Bennie and Thelma Coleman Reed. At age four he moved with his mother to Buffalo, New York, where later he attended the University of Buffalo... Read more

Ishmael Reed's importance to contemporary literary studies stems in part from his ability to channel his encyclopedic historical, political, and cultural knowledge into syncretic poetry and prose that... Read more

In the following essay, Abel offers a critical reading of Reed's poem “I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra.” Ishmael Reed's poem “I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra ... Read more

In the following essay, Ambler contends that the major thematic concerns of Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down can be found in his poem “I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra.” To understand Ishm... Read more

In the following essay, McConnell explores the concept of “HooDoo” as a controlling metaphor in Reed's fiction. Well, and keep in mind where those Masonic Mysteries came from i... Read more

In the following essay, Weixlmann investigates the influence of the Tlingit myth and Edgar Allan Poe's “The Raven” on Reed's Flight to Canada. Raven flew away to earth a... Read more

In the following essay, Green discusses how Reed's The Last Days of Louisiana Red functions as a work of social commentary. It has been ten years since the appearance of The Last Days of Lou... Read more

In the following essay, Martin provides a stylistic and thematic analysis of Reed's fiction, focusing on his linguistic metaphors. Ishmael Reed extends the notion of syncretism into the leve... Read more

In the following review, Rubin offers a mixed assessment of Japanese by Spring, faulting Reed for his “inability to comprehend the pervasive oppression of women in almost every culture.”... Read more

In the following essay, Hume examines Reed's treatment of control and power in his fiction and places him within the context of other writers dealing with similar thematic concerns. Spiked o... Read more

In the following negative review, Packer contrasts the treatment of race in Reed's Airing Dirty Laundry and Cornel West's Keeping the Faith. Taken together, these two essay collection... Read more

In the following essay, Zamir delineates the major thematic concerns and influences behind Reed's seminal poem “I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra.” I In 1963 Reed published ... Read more

In the following review, Formento discusses the controversial subject matter of Airing Dirty Laundry. Ishmael Reed's new collection of essays, Airing Dirty Laundry, proclaims to carry on his... Read more

In the following essay, Ludwig investigates the relationship between M. M. Bakhtin's theory of language and Reed's “Neo-HooDoo aesthetic,” focusing on the concepts of posse... Read more

In the following essay, Moraru examines the role of writing and rewriting in Reed's fiction, particularly as portrayed in Flight to Canada. Books titles tell the story. The original subtitle... Read more

In the following essay, Swope examines how Mumbo Jumbo fits into the genre of detective fiction. Following the publication of Mumbo Jumbo in 1972, Ishmael Reed proclaimed it “the best myster... Read more

In the following review, Thompson compliments Reed's discussion of how the media portrays African Americans in Another Day at the Front: Dispatches from the Race War, but notes that some Africa... Read more

Critical Essay by Martin Tucker Ishmael Reed can hardly be called a camp follower. [The Free-Lance Pall Bearers] inverts conventional attitudes for sustained comic effect; his feints are brilliant an... Read more

Critical Essay by George E. Kent Among novelists writing today, Reed ranks in the top of those commanding a brilliant set of resources and techniques. The prose is flexible, easy in its shift of gear... Read more

Critical Essay by Linda Shell Bergmann The American search for a usable past began with our first writers. American historians, cultural critics, and artists have repeatedly rewritten our history in ... Read more

Critical Essay by Stanley Crouch Tom-ing is such a normal thing, particularly in its urban capitol—New York—that one is sometimes shocked when a man, particularly a black man, decides n... Read more

Critical Essay by Jerome Klinkowitz In The Terrible Twos Reed is supposedly outside of history; he sets his story in 1990, when the President is a former male model, the economy is worse than ever, a... Read more

Critical Essay by Jerome Charyn ["Flight to Canada"] is a demonized "Uncle Tom's Cabin," a book that reinvents the particulars of slavery in America with a comic ra... Read more

Critical Essay by Norman Harris Central to understanding Ishmael Reed's fiction is an analysis of the ways in which he creates and uses literary folklore. It has for him dual purposes: it is p... Read more

Critical Essay by Stanley Crouch The trouble with The Terrible Twos is that [Reed has] said it all before and said it much better. This time out, he's picked another genre to tear apart with h... Read more

Critical Essay by Robert Towers The Terrible Twos is the latest in the series of pop-art novels … which, with their bizarre inventions and liveliness of language, have won for Reed a small but... Read more