Promotional Information

Bontemps contributed vastly to the culture of his era through his own writings--fiction, plays, poetry, children's books, and criticism--and advanced it through teaching, librarianship, and as a sponsor of the arts. Jones provides a portrait of Bontemps that previously could only be glimpsed from biographies of contemporaries and published correspondence.

Table of Contents

Chronology Family Backgrounds and Birth Early Years in Alexandria, Louisiana Childhood in Los Angeles Coming of Age in California Unique Role in the Renaissance The Depression Period The Chicago Period Distinguished Career at Fisk The Mature Years Bibliographic Essay Index

About the Author

KIRKLAND C. JONES is Professor of English at Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, specializing in African-American and Third World literatures. He contributed the entry on Bontemps, among others, to the Dictionary of Literary Biography and has published book chapters and articles in academic journals.

Reviews

?A readable, appreciative portrait, highlighting Bontemps's uniqueness and stability as a family man, inspiring teacher, and cultural archivist, photographs, chapter notes, and a bibliographic essay.?-Choice

?Jones's title is intended to make the point that Arna Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973) deserves the epithet "Renaissance man" for his significant achievement as a writer, teacher, scholar, and administrator, as well as for his participation in the Harlem Renaissance.?-American Lit.

?Renaissance Man...is a great contribution to the body of literature dealing with this significant historical and literary period.?-The Antioch Review

"A readable, appreciative portrait, highlighting Bontemps's uniqueness and stability as a family man, inspiring teacher, and cultural archivist, photographs, chapter notes, and a bibliographic essay."-Choice

"Renaissance Man...is a great contribution to the body of literature dealing with this significant historical and literary period."-The Antioch Review

"Jones's title is intended to make the point that Arna Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973) deserves the epithet "Renaissance man" for his significant achievement as a writer, teacher, scholar, and administrator, as well as for his participation in the Harlem Renaissance."-American Lit.