19th century writer Charles Chesnutt was once the most popular African-American author of his time. But everything changed after he published the 1901 book 鈥溾�� (Houghton, Mifflin and Company/1901). It was a fictionalized account of the 1898 race riot in Wilmington, North Carolina, and critics slammed the book. A high-profile editor even called it 鈥渂itter.鈥�
The book ruined Chesnutt鈥檚 reputation and career, but today鈥檚 critics and literary figures view the novel differently and argue that it is still relevant to this day. North Carolina author wrote a new introduction to the novel which will be released in the latest edition of 鈥溾�� (Belt Publishing/2019).
Cash joins host Frank Stasio to talk about Chestnutt鈥檚 career and his prescient novel. Cash is the writer-in-residence at the . He is also the founder of the and the co-founder of . Cash will be reading and giving a talk on Tuesday, April 16 at the Bellamy Mansion Museum in Wilmington.
