HailedinTheNewYorkTimesBookReviewas“eclectic,exciting,convincing,provocative“andinTheWashingtonPostBookWorldas“brilliantlyoriginal,“HenryLouisGates,Jr.’sTheSignifyingMonkeyisagroundbreakingworkthatilluminatestherelationshipbetweentheAfricanandAfrican-Americanvernaculartraditionsandblackliterature.Itelaboratesanewcriticalapproachlocatedwithinthistraditionthatallowstheblackvoicetospeakforitself.ExaminingtheancientpoetryandmythsfoundinAfrican,LatinAmerican,andCaribbeanculture,GatesuncoversauniquesystemforinterpretationandapowerfulvernaculartraditionthatblackslavesbroughtwiththemtotheNewWorld.ExploringtheprocessofsignificationinblackAmericanlifeandliteraturebyanalyzingthetransmissionandrevisionofvarioussignifyingfigures,Gatesprovidesanextendedanalysisofwhathecallsthe“TalkingBook,“acentraltropeinearlyslavenarrativesthatvirtuallydefinesthetraditionofblackAmericanletters.GatesusesthiscriticalframeworktoexamineseveralmajorworksofAfrican-Americanliterature--includingZoraNealeHurston’sTheirEyesWereWatchingGod,RalphEllison’sInvisibleMan,andIshmaelReed’sMumboJumbo--revealinghowtheseworkssignifyontheblacktraditionandoneachother.Thissuperb25th-AnniversaryEditionfeaturesanewprefacebyGatesthatreflectsontheimpactofthebookanditsrelevancefortoday’ssocietyaswellasanewafterwordwrittenbynotedcriticW.T.J.Mitchell.
