“All art is political”: John Keene’s Black historical resistance in Counternarratives

Resumo

ABSTRACT: This article deals with the engaged writing of prose writer, poet, translator, and Professor John Keene. The Black North-American author clashes of political struggles, for he seeks to rewrite history as a literary witness, bringing assessments, evaluations, and social issues of the bygone ages – and their following outcome in the present. Keene’s historical approach and critical attitude uphold the line in his awarded short stories, Counternarratives, published by New Directions in 2015. Concerns about canon, rewriting history, Afro-descendent voice, and resistance will be approached, backed by writers and researchers such as Fanon (1963), Spriggs (1965), Baraka (1969), T’Shaka (2012), among others.

KEY WORDS: John Keene; Counternarratives; resistance; rewriting history.