Kafka's Blues: Figurations of Racial Blackness in the Construction of an Aesthetic

Kafka's Blues: Figurations of Racial Blackness in the Construction of an AestheticKafka's Blues proves the startling thesis that many of Kafka's major works engage in a coherent, sustained meditation on racial transformation from white European into what Kafka refers to as the "Negro" (a term he used in English). Indeed, this book demonstrates that cultural assimilation and bodily transformation in Kafka's work are impossible without passage through a state of being "Negro." Kafka represents this passage in various waysfrom

it was a triumph not only for this distinguished Canadian but for all African Canadians

to boxy temples

Can she trust herself

offering lyrical ruminations about her decision to let her own mane mat

Some of these tools are amulets

performing arts

delicious delight

And girls -- they only seem to be adding to his problems

Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties

what about when the daughters of Frog and Snake had a playdate

and even in the modern age

Or are they