Cane (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
At a glance:
- Author: Jean Toomer
- First Published: 1923
- Type of Work: Poetry and short fiction
- Type of Plot: Experimental
- Time of Work: Early twentieth century
- Genres: Social realism, Short fiction
- Subjects: African Americans, Love or romance, Race, Sex or sexuality, Biracial people, Murder or homicide, Gender roles, Interracial relationships, Prostitution or prostitutes, 1920’s, Chicago, Georgia, Jews or Jewish life, Oppression, Washington, D.C.
- Locales: South (U.S.), Chicago, IL, Georgia, Washington, D.C.
Places Discussed
*American South. Although Toomer lived in the South only for a brief period, the experience had connected him to his ancestral roots. He knew that his father was from the South even though he had never seen him. His poem “Song of the Son” expresses nostalgia for the past. Toomer seeks solidarity with his African heritage as he mentions “souls of slavery” and “cotton bales,” to record a way of life that was shared by his ancestors. The first part of his book includes prose sketches of southern women whose sexual lives provide a common thread despite...
[The entire page is 752 words long]
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