White southern writers are frequently associated with the racism of blackface minstrelsy in their representations of African American characters, however, this book makes visible the ways in which southern novelists repeatedly imagine their white characters as in some sense fundamentally black.

"Race and White Identity in Southern Fiction" explores a form of racial passing that has gone largely unnoticed. Duvall makes visible the means by which southern novelists repeatedly imagined their white characters as fundamentally black in some sense. Beginning with William Faulkner, Duvall traces a form of figurative and rhetorical masking in twentieth-century southern fiction that derives from whiteface minstrelsy. In the fiction of such subsequent writers as Flannery O'Connor, John Barth, Dorothy Allison, and Ishmael Reed, the reader sees characters who present a white face to the world, even as they unconsciously perform cultural blackness. These queer performances of race repeatedly reveal that being merely Caucasian is insufficient to claim Southern Whiteness.

"Questions of company governance have been examined over the years, but this has generally been in areas concerning shareholders. Meanwhile the management team and board of directors remain comparatively unexplored. This book has been written to provide a way into this relatively unknown world of executive committees"--

Questions of company governance have been examined over the years, but this has generally been in areas concerning shareholders. Meanwhile the management team and board of directors remain comparatively unexplored. This book has been written to provide a way into this relatively unknown world of executive committees.

Now available in a new paperback edition, The Identifying Fictions of Toni Morrison examines Morrison's hugely influential fiction, criticism, and interviews for traces of her struggle to construct a useable identity as an African American woman novelist. The only book to explore autobiographical tendencies in Morrison's fiction, Duvall's study:
-Provides in-depth chapters on Morrison's most frequently taught novels
-Uses Morrison's own words from interviews and essays as an important context for understanding her fiction
-Traces Morrison's critical engagement with modernist writers, particularly William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf, and Ralph Ellison
In a new Afterword, Duvall discusses Morrison's two most recent novels, Love and A Mercy, in the context of the author's recent disclosures about her Catholicism.

"Race and White Identity in Southern Fiction" explores a form of racial passing that has gone largely unnoticed. Duvall makes visible the means by which southern novelists repeatedly imagined their white characters as fundamentally black in some sense. Beginning with William Faulkner, Duvall traces a form of figurative and rhetorical masking in twentieth-century southern fiction that derives from whiteface minstrelsy. In the fiction of such subsequent writers as Flannery O'Connor, John Barth, Dorothy Allison, and Ishmael Reed, the reader sees characters who present a white face to the world, even as they unconsciously perform cultural blackness. These queer performances of race repeatedly reveal that being merely Caucasian is insufficient to claim Southern Whiteness.

Although all published biographical information on Toni Morrison agrees that her birth name was Chloe Anthony Wofford, John Duvall's book challenges this claim. Using new biographical information, he explores the issue of names and naming in Morrison’s fiction and repeatedly finds surprising traces of the Nobel Prize–winning author’s struggle to construct a useable identity as an African American woman novelist. Whatever the exact circumstances surrounding her decision to become Toni, one thing becomes clear: the question of identity was not a given for Morrison.

You've heard of the first Black to sit in the front of the bus, first Black Boxer, first Black Baseball Player, and first Black Astronaut. What about one of the first Blacks to be sent to the Army's 82nd Airborne, to work as an IBM operator in New York City, or to open an African American Art gallery in Manhattan. It's all the same person: Thomas Joseph DuVall. His autobiography discusses these poignant points of his life along with the challenges of segregation, a Catholic upbringing, family sacrifice, and the Harlem art scene. These are just a few of the themes in his coming-of-age autobiography entitled "Venial Sins."

In Catholic doctrine, venial sins are little white lies and minor infringements or violations of the truth. The author shows you how so-called venial, not mortal, sins can devastate the delicate sensibilities of innocent children. These children later become, more often than not, our troubled adults who must now decide whether their sins are mortal or venial.

In this autobiography, venial sins permeate the book, starting from his being born and raised in Washington, D.C., from 1934 to 1953; enlisting in the Armed Forces at age 16 and experiencing eye-opening racial experiences in both the military and his own hometown; becoming an Artist portraying his heritage in his Art; becoming a Drummer determined to play his conga drums and Afrocentric music in the 1950s, when it was unpopular to do so; and interweaving the job and other personal experiences of this ordinary man with an extraordinary life. Throughout all of these experiences, the author is able to reflect on them and laugh at all the ridiculous situations in which people can find themselves-in a moment's notice This passionate storyteller's famous line is: "I know you're not going to believe this..." Not just a life story, "Venial Sins" is a true story of American history.

Parts I and II of the autobiography will have readers laughing and crying about the author's childhood and military experiences. Part III describes his moving to New York City and opening the very first African American Art gallery there with the help of another Korean War veteran, Rudy Irvin. The Art gallery, called the Weusi Artist Collective, is still celebrated and recognized today for its impact on African Art in America. The book also describes how he ends up leaving New York City and why. The book ends with the author's uplifting, joyous mural, "Slammin'," which exemplifies the spirit of his life.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific organization created in 1879, and is part of the U.S. government. Their scientists explore our environment and ecosystems, to determine the natural dangers we are facing. The agency has over 10,000 employees that collect, monitor, and analyze data so that they have a better understanding of our problems. The USGS is dedicated to provide reliable, investigated information to enhance and protect our quality of life. This is one of their reports.