{"product_id":"conversations-with-leon-forrest-9781578069903","title":"Conversations with Leon Forrest","description":"Leon Forrest (1937-1997) was among the most innovative and ambitious African American fiction writers of the twentieth century. His books-which include novels \u003ci\u003eThere Is a Tree More Ancient than Eden\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDivine Days\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Bloodworth Orphans\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eTwo Wings to Veil My Face\u003c\/i\u003e, and the posthumously published novella \u003ci\u003eMeteor in the Madhouse\u003c\/i\u003e-fused classical mythology, realism, and African American history and culture. Largely set in his native Chicago, Forrest's novels comprise an oeuvre of powerful urban modernism. \u003ci\u003eConversations with Leon Forrest\u003c\/i\u003e collects interviews ranging from 1975 to 1997. Forrest discusses his literary influences (William Faulkner, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Thomas Hardy, Dylan Thomas), the significance of both Catholicism and Baptist impulses in his writing, and the intersection between politics and aesthetics in black literature and culture. Music-jazz, folk, blues, and gospel-also played an im-portant role in developing Forrest's aesthetic.  Throughout the collection, Forrest's wit, erudition, and candor are evident. His moral concerns, disciplined work ethic, and stylis-tic invention are explored. \u003ci\u003eConversations with Leon Forrest\u003c\/i\u003e is a valuable introduction to a writer who was recognized as a literary genius by Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison. Dana A. Williams is associate professor of African American literature at Howard University. She is the author of \u003ci\u003e\"In the Light of Likeness-Transformed\": The Literary Art of Leon Forrest\u003c\/i\u003e and, with Sandra Shannon, the editor of \u003ci\u003eAugust Wilson and Black Aesthetics\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Williams, Dana A.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/07\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Mississippi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781578069903\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 141\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.97h x 6.35w x 0.49d","brand":"Dana A. Williams","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":33052682682443,"sku":"9781578069903","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0021\/1697\/6715\/products\/img_47369e42-43e5-4bdf-8638-22827fc8f2d9.jpg?v=1612227373","url":"https:\/\/blackbookstore.com\/products\/conversations-with-leon-forrest-9781578069903","provider":"Black Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}