Finished BOOKS AND BATTLES by Irene and Allen Cleaton last night. Never heard of the Cleatons before and as far as I know this is their only book but their account of American Literature in the twenties, the decade of revolt by the younger generation led by F. Scott Fitzgerald zeroing in on novels and stories offering "shocking situations, unconventional language, and iconoclasm" indicates they had a ringside seat. Usually clear sighted and open minded they seemed to slip uncomfortably --- at least for me ---when it came to what they called Dark Art. In the chapter titled "The Vogue For Vogues" they said "The Negro Renaissance...attracted an enormous amount of attention in the first half of the 'twenties" because "the Young Intellectuals were demonstrating their lack of race prejudice by vocifeous praise of the art of the down-trodden black brother." Even though this book came out in 1937 I'm still uncertain how to view this. Neither good nor bad, just the way thinking percolated back then? Sub-conscious or subdued-conscious acceptance of white superiority? Anyway, they go on to say "But although they wrote prolifically and some of them wrote skillfully, the worth of their literature may be questioned now the fad has died...Few of the Negro writers and poets resisted the temptation to state the case of their race while the whites were welcoming their work so kindly." Gee, how nice of us White folk.
Racism or not, the Cleatons write well on a subject with which they have remarkable insight. Recommended with only one reservation: watch your step. Some nuggets are moss covered pyrites.
