Hollis Robbins

If you're looking for a book that you can dip in and out of over the course of several days (or weeks if you're me) then I recommend you check out The Portable Nineteenth-Century African American Women Writers. Organized by theme, this book features many writers of different genres. There are poets, essayists, lecturers, novelists, ministers, and teachers to name just a few. The common theme (besides their gender and race) is that they are advocates for equality of the races and sexes. I found that this book was an excellent conversation starter especially if you want to talk about tough topics like economic and social equality coupled with the history of the Americas. It's also an excellent way to discover writers that you may have never heard of as many of them are quite niche. As you might surmise, the topics covered in this collection are quite deep and therefore as a whole it's an emotionally and mentally exhausting enterprise. It's well worth the effort though. It's astonishing to me just how many of these women I had never heard of but when they were originally writing their voices were strong, no-holds-barred, and topical (most are relevant even today). The truths spoken are hard to accept because the topics are still so ingrained and fresh in the memory of our country. It's another reminder that we should continually be expanding our minds and looking beyond what we already 'know'. Embrace learning about new things! 9/10 and only lost that point because by 1/2 way through I was having to hype myself up to pick it back up again.… (more)

5 stars for historical significance; minus one for being overly wordy and preachy

A regular version of Uncle Tom's Cabin may not have the concluding remarks by the author, which I found quite interesting. Most of the characters and incidents concerning slave treatment were based on events and people Stowe had encountered or heard about through friends. Living in a border state, she was more familiar than her northern neighbors with the experiences of slaves. Stowe was spurred into action by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, requiring those in the north to assist in capturing escaped slaves. She said she wanted to show slavery in all its phases.

Obviously, this is written in an old-fashioned style and has more preachiness, stereotypes and condescension than modern readers would prefer, but Stowe made the plight of slaves real to people of her time and instigated a major change of thought. For that, I laud her. (I had to use a Stowe-like word here.)

To be honest, this book was more interesting and complex than I'd expected and had interesting characters even when they were stereotypes. The annotated version is particularly interesting because of the notations throughout explaining references and questions that the editors and others have.… (more)