Ishmael Reed: The Free-Lance Pallbearers

Mirabell

Mirabell

Former Member
Called “a great writer” by none other than James Baldwin, Ishmael Reed’s reputation always had to contend with accusations of misogyny and with the barriers that a career of writing difficult-to-place novels involves. His writing, in all his books, straddled the divide between the experimental and postmodern fiction of Burroughs, Coover and Pynchon, and the strong political convictions and concerns of Ellison, Baldwin and Morrison. Between Coover and Morrison, there never was any real room for a writer like Reed, although his talent, his gift for writing is beyond any doubt. Reed is a black writer who does not cozy up to the expectations of topics or treatment of these same topics. His acidic style eats into both white and black narratives. There are various ways this works out in his work, but in his debut novel, The Free-Lance Pallbearers, published in 1967, he strikes all these chords, in a simple, almost crude way. He juxtaposes images, caricatures, quotes and screams of pain in one flame-hot bugger of a novel, which is far from flawless, but it is its numerous strengths that keep Reed’s boat afloat here.
Click to expand...
full review here
Cake: Ishmael Reed’s “The Free-Lance Pallbearers” shigekuni.



boy am I glad to've 'discovered' this writer...
 
Last edited:
Morbid Swither

Morbid Swither

Well-known member
Mirabell said:
full review here
Cake: Ishmael Reed’s “The Free-Lance Pallbearers” shigekuni.



boy am I glad to've 'discovered' this writer...
Click to expand...
As the year comes to a close, I am binging/deep-diving the American author Ishmael Reed, now 85. His poetry, novels, plays, essays and activism have long been an elephant in the room as far as my intentional reading, if not my attention in general, is concerned. I just reread The Freelance Pallbearers for the first time since my young adulthood, and I feel really on board with this project. To me, he seems like a worthy Nobel honoree and I think now is the time to really explore his oeuvre!

Next up a (second) reread of Mumbo Jumbo (which was a landmark text in my college curriculum): hoping to start today and finish tomorrow, and then immediately on to a reread of Conjure: Poems his NBA-finalist collection of poems that earned him the distinction of being nominated for two National Book Awards in different categories simultaneously; and then to Japanese by Spring (a satire of university politics and manners) and his more recent play The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top