Jazz Age Summary

1920s: Music Jazz was the music of the 1920s. It was the best display of black musical talent the world had ever seen. Originating with musicians in New Orleans, Louisiana, the sound soon spread acros... Read more

In the following essay, Smith examines the inclusion of jazz music from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Ralph Ellison, John O'Hara, and Nelson Algren. Since the late thirties enough has been written ... Read more

In the following excerpt, Epstein explores Malcolm Lowry's implementation of jazz elements in his novel Under the Volcano. When during the course of treatment a psychiatrist asked Malcolm Lo... Read more

In the following excerpt, Szwed examines several works of jazz literature, focusing on Josef Skvorecky's The Bass Saxophone: Two Novellas. The idea of the universality of the black experienc... Read more

In the following excerpt, Salamone discusses the representation of jazz music in works by Stanford Whitmore and Josef Skvorecky. All music was a solitary sound To hollow rocks and murmuring fountai... Read more

In the following discussion, moderated by Robert Kelly, Komunyakaa and Matthews discuss the relationship between jazz music and their respective poetry. Robert Kelly: Jazz has been present in liter... Read more

In the following essay, Weinstein explores the use of jazz rhythms and allusions in the poetry of Caribbean poet Kamau Brathwaite. If one could assemble in imagination an ultimate jazz band to hono... Read more

In the following essay, Harding discusses the jazz criticism and theories of Theodor Adorno, which he then applies to Ralph Ellison's novel The Invisible Man. All totaled, Theodor Adorno wro... Read more

In the following essay, Jarab examines the importance of jazz music to author Josef Skvorecky. Josef Skvorecky's fascination with jazz is no new story for anyone who knows the author or has ... Read more

In the following essay, Hokanson explores the uses of jazz be-bop as a Modernist technique in the literary works of Langston Hughes. Although few topics in literary studies these days are more comp... Read more

In the following essay, Malcolm identifies jazz references and influences in the fiction of Michael Ondaatje. Given that jazz is a relatively recent musical form, it is not surprising that studies ... Read more

The Revival of the Ku Klux Klan: During the 1920's, there was an upsurge of nativism, or the belief that Native-born Americans are superior to foreigners. This rapid change of the American society l... Read more