Miss Anne in Harlem: The White Women of the Black Renaissance - Softcover

Kaplan, Assistant Professor Of English Carla

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060882379 ISBN 13: 9780060882372

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2014

Synopsis

Title: Miss Anne in Harlem( The White Women of the Black Renaissance) <>Binding: Paperback <>Author: CarlaKaplan <>Publisher: HarperPerennial

About this title

Review:

"(Kaplan's) extensive research has given life to a critical period in black American history-and given credit to the white women who, for various reasons, helped the Harlem Renaissance flourish."--NPR.org

"[A] revelatory book. . . . Aside from its significance as cultural history, Miss Anne in Harlem is packed with amazing life stories."--NPR's Fresh Air

"[R]ichly researched, thoughtful new book."--"Boston Globe"

"[An] intriguing new book."--"Washington Post Book World"

In this remarkable work of historical recovery . . . [Kaplan] resurrects Miss Anne as a cultural figure and explores the messy contradictions of her life . . . deeply researched. --"New York Times Book Review""

An empathetic and skillful writer, Kaplan . . . shares the previously untold story of a group of notable white women who embraced black culture--and life--in Harlem in the 1920s and 30s. . . . Captivating. --"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)"

With superb, exhaustive research and finely dramatic writing, Carla Kaplan s brilliant "Miss Anne in Harlem" fills an aching void in our knowledge of the Harlem Renaissance. It also significantly deepens our understanding of American culture in the 1920s and American feminism in general. --Arnold Rampersad, author of "The Life of Langston Hughes""

Carla Kaplan has taken on a dauntingly liminal topic and by force of scholarly rigor and narrative compassion rendered it central to our understanding of an era. Lush, original, and vigorously argued.... --Diane McWhorter, author of "Carry Me Home""

Kaplan always writes from inside her characters, and with a novelist s sense of scope and compassion. --Hilton Als, "New Yorker."com"

(Kaplan s) extensive research has given life to a critical period in black American history-and given credit to the white women who, for various reasons, helped the Harlem Renaissance flourish. --NPR.org"

From the Back Cover:

Winner, Julia Ward Howe Prize
New York Times Notable Book
Publishers Weekly, "Ten Best" Books of 2013
NPR, "Best of 2013"
Los Angeles Times bestseller
"Must Read" Book, Massachusetts Book Awards

New York City in the Jazz Age was host to a pulsating artistic and social revolution. Uptown, an unprecedented explosion in black music, literature, dance, and art sparked the Harlem Renaissance. While the history of this African-American awakening has been widely explored, one chapter remains untold: the story of a group of women collectively dubbed "Miss Anne."

Sexualized and sensationalized in the mainstream press--portrayed as monstrous or insane--Miss Anne was sometimes derided within her chosen community of Harlem as well. While it was socially acceptable for white men to head uptown for "exotic" dancers and "hot" jazz, white women who were enthralled by life on West 125th Street took chances. Miss Anne in Harlem introduces these women--many from New York's wealthiest social echelons--who became patrons of, and romantic participants in, the Harlem Renaissance. They include Barnard College founder Annie Nathan Meyer, Texas heiress Josephine Cogdell Schuyler, British activist Nancy Cunard, philanthropist Charlotte Osgood Mason, educator Lillian E. Wood, and novelist Fannie Hurst--all women of accomplishment and renown in their day. Yet their contributions as hostesses, editors, activists, patrons, writers, friends, and lovers often went unacknowledged and have been lost to history until now.

In a vibrant blend of social history and biography, award-winning writer Carla Kaplan offers a joint portrait of six iconoclastic women who risked ostracism to follow their inclinations--and raised hot-button issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality in the bargain. Returning Miss Anne to her rightful place in the interracial history of the Harlem Renaissance, Kaplan's formidable work remaps the landscape of the 1920s, alters our perception of this historical moment, and brings Miss Anne to vivid life.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0060882379
• ISBN 13: 9780060882372
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 544