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A review by crowyhead
The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart
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.