Tipping on a Tightrope: Divas in African American Literature

Lockridge (English, and Black studies, Allegheny College) explores the history and the many facets of the idea of divas in popular culture, then ties that exploration to literature. She discusses Their Eyes Were Watching God, Liliane: Resurrection of the Daughter, Helga Crane, and Janie Crawford, among other works and authors. This is an astute and illuminating study, engagingly written in a manner that reaches beyond narrow academic corridors. Annotation �穢2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)