Tambourines to Glory | The Position of Tambourines to Glory

In the following review, Jones discusses the position of Tambourines to Glory between the more subjective folk tradition of “Negro literature” and the more universal idea of the “Negro in literature.”

I suppose, by now, Langston Hughes’s name is synonymous with “Negro Literature.” For many, he is the only Negro in the world of books. This, of course, is unfortunate. But in quite another sense this is as it should be. Hughes is probably the last “major” Negro writer who will be allowed to write what could be called a “Negro Literature” (as differentiated from literature in general): to impose upon himself such staggering limitations.

Now, don’t for a moment take this to be a plea for “assimilationist” literature (i.e., novels, etc. written by Negroes that...

[The entire page is 2185 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...