World Literature Today – July 01, 2019

editorialboard

Roger Allen

Manuel Durán

César Ferreira

Erik Gleibermann

George Gömöri

Alamgir Hashmi

Emily D. Johnson

Farzaneh Milani

Tanure Ojaide

Nii Ayikwei Parkes

Ilan Stavans

Michelle Yeh

Theodore Ziolkowski

contributingeditors

Shir Alon

Amit Baishya

J. Madison Davis

Karlos K. Hill

Alexander Jabbari

Jeanetta Calhoun Mish

Karin Schutjer

David Shook

Julie Ann Ward

boardofvisitors

Molly Shi Boren

S. Ross Clarke

Cheryl Foote Groenendyke

Sarah C. Hogan

Judy Zarrow Kishner

Mary D. Nichols

Susan Neustadt Schwartz

George A. Singer

Jeanne Hoffman Smith

Lela Sullivan

James R. Tolbert III

Lew O. Ward

Martha Griffin White

Penny Williams

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Summer 2019

Volume 93, Number 3

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & NEUSTADT PROFESSOR

Robert Con Davis-Undiano

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR & EDITOR IN CHIEF

Daniel Simon

MANAGING & CULTURE EDITOR

Michelle Johnson

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Look Back World Literature Today

“Ralph Ellison had that swing. One could hear it in his voice. He was
part this, part that, part Oklahoma, part Alabama, part New York, part
of the growing edge of life—black, American, human. Negro Ameri-
cans, to use Ellison’s favorite phrase, are blessed and lucky to have pro-
duced such a craftsman with such a magnificently tuned human voice.
Oklahoma is lucky to be able to claim him as a native son. He was no
Greek or Roman, despite his many laurels and his self-standing heroic
leanings. To paraphrase Stanley Crouch, ‘the Oklahoma Kid’ came in
from the territory, entered European and American history, charted
the trail ahead for others who will follow him, and then exited with
his old integrity and sense of style intact. Ralph Ellison’s impact on
American life and letters was craftsmanlike. We will miss him.”—James
Alan McPherson, “Listening to the Lower Frequencies: Ralph Ellison
(1914–1994),” W LT 68, no. 3 (Summer 1994): 447

“By any standard of literary evaluation, Toni Morrison is a phenomenon,
in the classic sense of a once-in-a-lifetime rarity,... the superstar whose
touch upon her profession makes us wonder if we shall ever see her like
again. The indelible word portraits she has created, the unforgettable
mythical and imaginary places, the exploration of the psychological
trauma of slavery, racism, and war, and the sheer beauty of prose that
frequently reads like poetry have assured Morrison a place in the can-
ons of world literature.”—Trudier Harris, “Toni Morrison: Solo Flight
through Literature into History,” W LT 68, no. 1 (Winter 1994): 9

25 Years Ago in the

Pages of WLT

Ralph Ellison. Photo: Library of Congress,

courtesy of the National Archives.

4 W LT SUMMER 2019