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rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Straight-up biography. Well-researched, but not much insight.
mezzosherri's review against another edition
4.0
A masterful biography of one of the main architect's of the Harlem Renaissance, teaching me that he was so much more than the editor of 1925's The New Negro. It's undeniably a dense, academic biography: lots of detail, lots of footnotes, lots of heady content---from distillations of the philosophical arguments in Locke’s graduate theses, to psychological analysis of Locke’s behaviors and motivations, to detailed shout-outs and allusions to the many artists, authors, and cultural figures who crossed his path. If that kind of intellectual rigor is something you enjoy, I will say the book is really really good!
Full review here: https://anotherchange.wordpress.com/2019/01/12/the-new-negro-the-life-of-alain-locke-by-jeffrey-c-stewart/
Full review here: https://anotherchange.wordpress.com/2019/01/12/the-new-negro-the-life-of-alain-locke-by-jeffrey-c-stewart/
crowyhead's review against another edition
4.0
An incredibly dense but rewarding read. I learned so much about the Harlem Renaissance, the changing views of Black art and culture, and the movers and shakers in the Black intellectual spheres of the 1920s-40s.
This is, primarily, a philosophical and intellectual biography of Locke. Where Stewart examines Locke's relationships, it's in the interest of how they influenced his worldview and philosophy. At times, this means that it's harder to grasp what Locke's daily life was actually like. There are times when Stewart describes some of Locke's practices as a gay man, and how he navigated the layers of closets while also being as close to "out" as his situation would allow, but the focus is definitely on how people influenced Locke and how he influenced them, rather than on his friendships and lovers. This sometimes left me feeling a bit adrift, and I was left feeling that I knew how Locke thought, but maybe not what he was really like, especially in his later years. Stewart tells us that Locke built a family of sorts of other friends and outcasts, but little of that family feeling is revealed in the biography.
I feel that this is an incredibly important, well-written, well-researched biography. I hope it's just the first of more books from other authors exploring Locke.
This is, primarily, a philosophical and intellectual biography of Locke. Where Stewart examines Locke's relationships, it's in the interest of how they influenced his worldview and philosophy. At times, this means that it's harder to grasp what Locke's daily life was actually like. There are times when Stewart describes some of Locke's practices as a gay man, and how he navigated the layers of closets while also being as close to "out" as his situation would allow, but the focus is definitely on how people influenced Locke and how he influenced them, rather than on his friendships and lovers. This sometimes left me feeling a bit adrift, and I was left feeling that I knew how Locke thought, but maybe not what he was really like, especially in his later years. Stewart tells us that Locke built a family of sorts of other friends and outcasts, but little of that family feeling is revealed in the biography.
I feel that this is an incredibly important, well-written, well-researched biography. I hope it's just the first of more books from other authors exploring Locke.
mightymel_reads's review
3.0
I wanted to read this because it won the Pulitzer, the National Book Award, and the author is a professor at UC Santa Barbara. Unfortunately, the only copy available from the library was the audiobook version. I think a lot of what made this book great was probably lost due to me listening to this instead of reading it. I think because I sometimes space out with audiobooks, the information lost tended to be the intricacies of his philosophies. I did not enjoy the narrator. My main issue with this book was just how long it was. It was incredibly detailed, more than what I felt was necessary at times. That being said, I learned a lot and I've never read a more thorough biography. I recommend for anyone wanting to read this book to not use the audiobook version, if possible. Alain Locke truly was remarkable and I'm happy I learned so much about his life.
sophronisba's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this, but my goodness it was long. 873 pages is a lot to devote to someone you had never heard of before you opened the book! Still, Locke is fascinating. His personal life reminded me a bit of Lear's (I just finished [b:Mr Lear: A Life of Art and Nonsense|34445015|Mr Lear A Life of Art and Nonsense|Jenny Uglow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507324907s/34445015.jpg|55554792], so it was fresh in my mind) but his professional life was really interesting to me.
austindoherty's review against another edition
4.0
Portrait of a man pinioned between ushering in a radically new Black subjectivity and the realities of white patronage. Will he be credentialed, or not? Hired, or not? Fired, or not? Basically, will he be funded, or not. The first 400 pages or so Locke mostly just writes his mother for money, and the overall impression I'm left with is a man constrained in a web of purse strings, notable as much for his realized contributions as his thwarted ones
markk's review against another edition
5.0
Though regarded as the "dean" of the Harlem Renaissance, Alain LeRoy Locke's name is not one that usually comes to mind when most people think of the movement. Yet it was the Philadelphia-born philosopher who provided much of the intellectual framework for it, most notably with his concept of the "New Negro." That Jeffrey Stewart uses the name as the title for his in-depth biography of Locke both highlights its role in defining Locke's legacy and the degree to which it was a product of Locke's own life and experiences.
The only child of middle-class parents, Locke grew up in Gilded Age Philadelphia. Stewart stresses the predominant role Locke's mother Mary played in his life, particularly in inculcating a passion for education. Graduating from Harvard, Locke became a celebrity among African Americans by becoming the nation's first black Rhodes scholar, though he was frustrated in his efforts to complete his degree there. Returning to America, he started teaching at Howard University, moving from education to philosophy after earning his doctorate at Harvard. Yet it was his work on race that would endure, particularly with his promotion of African and African-American culture in both art and literature. Though the Renaissance as a movement declined by the end of the 1920s, Locke had succeeded in redefining African American identity in ways that embraced their heritage while reaffirming its place in American life.
Locke's role in this has long deserved its due, and Stewart has provided it. His biography provides readers with a deeply perceptive study of Locke's life and achievements, one that situates them both within his time and the circumstances of his life. His is especially good at describing the central role Locke's homosexuality played in his life, which is no small achievement considering the degree to which such matters often went unspoken back then. That doing so requires a degree of supposition on Stewart's part is understandable, but his judgments are reasoned and well-argued. Together it makes for a masterful achievement, one that gives Locke the recognition he deserves for his many accomplishments.
The only child of middle-class parents, Locke grew up in Gilded Age Philadelphia. Stewart stresses the predominant role Locke's mother Mary played in his life, particularly in inculcating a passion for education. Graduating from Harvard, Locke became a celebrity among African Americans by becoming the nation's first black Rhodes scholar, though he was frustrated in his efforts to complete his degree there. Returning to America, he started teaching at Howard University, moving from education to philosophy after earning his doctorate at Harvard. Yet it was his work on race that would endure, particularly with his promotion of African and African-American culture in both art and literature. Though the Renaissance as a movement declined by the end of the 1920s, Locke had succeeded in redefining African American identity in ways that embraced their heritage while reaffirming its place in American life.
Locke's role in this has long deserved its due, and Stewart has provided it. His biography provides readers with a deeply perceptive study of Locke's life and achievements, one that situates them both within his time and the circumstances of his life. His is especially good at describing the central role Locke's homosexuality played in his life, which is no small achievement considering the degree to which such matters often went unspoken back then. That doing so requires a degree of supposition on Stewart's part is understandable, but his judgments are reasoned and well-argued. Together it makes for a masterful achievement, one that gives Locke the recognition he deserves for his many accomplishments.
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