Nella Larsen, Passing

Patrick Chura (University of Akron); Alexa Lago (University of Akron)

Ed. by Stephen E. Meats, Pittsburg State University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.3: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1929

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

The second and final published novel of Nella Larsen’s brief but brilliant literary career, Passing appeared in 1929, a year after Quicksand had made Larsen’s reputation and won praise from W.E.B. Dubois as “the best piece of fiction that Negro America has produced since the heyday of Chesnutt” (784). Though Passing did not create the immediate sensation of Larsen’s first book, modern critics, scholars and students have been fascinated by its intricate exploration of American racial codes and its nuanced, still-relevant treatments of social class and sexuality.

Passing opens with a poetic epigraph from Countée Cullen’s “Heritage” that asks “What is Africa to me?” The fundamental …

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3336 words

Citation: Chura, Patrick, Alexa Lago. "Passing". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 August 2016 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2909, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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