{"product_id":"the-grasp-that-reaches-beyond-venetria-k-patton-9781438447360","title":"The Grasp That Reaches Beyond the Grave: The Ancestral Call in Black Women's Texts","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExplores Black women writers' treatment of the ancestor figure.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Grasp That Reaches beyond the Grave\u003c\/i\u003e investigates the treatment of the ancestor figure in Toni Cade Bambara's \u003ci\u003eThe Salt Eaters\u003c\/i\u003e, Paule Marshall's \u003ci\u003ePraisesong for the Widow\u003c\/i\u003e, Phyllis Alesia Perry's \u003ci\u003eStigmata\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Sunday in June\u003c\/i\u003e, Toni Morrison's \u003ci\u003eBeloved\u003c\/i\u003e, Tananarive Due's \u003ci\u003eThe Between\u003c\/i\u003e, and Julie Dash's film, \u003ci\u003eDaughters of the Dust\u003c\/i\u003e in order to understand how they draw on African cosmology and the interrelationship of ancestors, elders, and children to promote healing within the African American community. Venetria K. Patton suggests that the experience of slavery with its concomitant view of black women as \"natally dead\" has impacted African American women writers' emphasis on elders and ancestors as they seek means to counteract notions of black women as somehow disconnected from the progeny of their wombs. This misperception is in part addressed via a rich kinship system, which includes the living and the dead. Patton notes an uncanny connection between depictions of elder, ancestor, and child figures in these texts and Kongo cosmology. These references suggest that these works are examples of Africanisms or African retentions, which continue to impact African American culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Venetria K. Patton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1438447361\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781438447360\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e State University of New York Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/02\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 226\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.68lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.12h x 6.00w x 0.43d","brand":"Venetria K. Patton","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48453630886143,"sku":"9781438447360","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_a8e99cc8-6885-470b-81e2-97afe7364db7.jpg?v=1777301301","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-grasp-that-reaches-beyond-venetria-k-patton-9781438447360","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}