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: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose 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

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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 question reverberates endlessly as the characters navigate a racially obsessed society

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Citation: Chura, Patrick, Alexa Lago. "Passing". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 August 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2909, accessed 23 November 2024.]

Nella Larsen, Passing

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