Description: "Between 1967 and 1972 at least thirty anthologies by African American, Latinx, Asian American, and Native American children came out of adult-led writing workshops and classrooms. These anthologies gained national media coverage, occasionally became bestsellers, and even inspired a hit Broadway musical. While writings by children had long attracted attention, this coverage was distinguished by the widespread belief that children of color from poor and working-class neighborhoods were uniquely able to speak about racism and inequality. Focusing on youth within New York City, Amy Fish examines child-authored texts of these years within the context of their production and reception. These writers were often supervised and edited by white adults, raising concerns about the authenticity and agency of their voices. Fish contends that young authors shared these concerns and employed savvy rhetorical strategies to interrogate the perils and possibilities of their adult-influenced work. Young writers thus contributed to the era's debates about the nature of authorship and readership within a racist society"--
Review Quotes:
"Writing Themselves into the Movement joins a dynamic critical conversation in childhood studies about the complex and rich question of child agency, particularly amid the constraints of adult-centered practices and collaborations."--Victoria Ford Smith, author of Between Generations: Collaborative Authorship in the Golden Age of Children's Literature
"With excellent close readings and storytelling, Writing Themselves into the Movement is a necessary addition to Black Arts Movement studies, cultural activism, and children's literary studies."--Elizabeth Rodriguez Fielder, University of Iowa