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Paul Robeson

A Life of Activism and Art

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Paul Robeson: A Life of Activism and Art is the biography of an African American icon and a demonstration of historian Lindsey R. Swindall's knack for thorough, detailed research and reflection. Paul Robeson was, at points in his life, an actor, singer, football player, political activist and writer, one of the most diversely talented members of the Harlem Renaissance. Swindall centers Robeson's story around the argument that while Robeson leaned toward Socialism, a Pan-African perspective is fundamental to understanding his life as an artist and political advocate. Many previous works on Robeson have focused primarily on his involvement with the US Communist Party, paying little attention to the broader African influences on his politics and art. With each chapter focused on a decade of his life, this book affords us a fresh look at his story, and the ways in which the struggles, successes and studies of his formative years came to shape him as an artist, activist and man later on. Robeson's story is one not simply of politics and protest, but of a man's lifelong evolution from an athlete to an entertainer to an indispensible man of letters and African American thought. Swindall neatly outlines the events of Robeson's life in a way that freshly presents him as a man whose work was influenced by more than just his circumstances, but by a spirit rooted in dedication to the African's place in American art and politics.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 11, 2013
      This serviceable biography follows Robeson's remarkable career as an actor and activist, attempting to rescue his contributions to the stage and the political scene from the pall cast over them by a McCarthy Era blacklist. Robeson is most famous for his career as an actor and singerâhe starred as the first African-American Othello on Broadway, and as Joe in Show Boatâbut he also took a deep interest in politics and social justice. Swindall's accounting is thorough and straightforward, but her prose is repetitive and occasionally clumsy. The result is a surprisingly tidy and unexceptional account of a somewhat untidy and certainly exceptional man. Worse, Swindall spends a great deal of time applauding Robeson's achievements but gives little critical energy to the less sterling moments in his story. Despite the flatness of the narrative, the book is a diligent recital of the events of Robeson's life, providing a detailed report of everything from Robeson's commencement address to the depression he suffered later in life.

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  • English

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