Introduction: Narrative Encounters with Ethnic American Literatures

Abstract

In Narrative, Race, and Ethnicity in the United States, James Donahue reminds the reader of Toni Morrison’s important role in inspiring “a generation of scholars to study the complexities of race and ethnicity in American literature”. In addition to exchanges with the contributors, the volume received important impulses from a related conference that was held online in September 2021, and which culminated in a roundtable discussion on the final conference day. Reimagining narrative time, space, and history in ways that challenge or run counter to established literary and cultural conventions is a feature of many texts by authors identifying with racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.