John A. Williams: Case Sixteen

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Note: Case 21 contains audio and video clips.

Case Sixteen

JACOB'S LADDER (1987)

Two former "traditional publishers" of mine turned this down. One had said they wanted very much to do it, but then had a change of heart. Eventually, Thunder's Mouth Press published it. The novel goes back to 1966 and it stays there. It is the first novel that I've set entirely outside the United States; the setting is in a west African country.

A CONDITION OF CONFLICT. Original typescript, with author's corrections and additions. Uncollated sheets. An early version of Jacob's Ladder.

JACOB'S LADDER. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press (1987). First edition, copy proof.

JACOB'S LADDER. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press (1987). First edition, in dust jacket. Signed by Williams and dated 10 August 1987.

"JACOB'S LADDER," in Essence. Vol. 18, No. 3 (July 1987). An excerpt from the novel, accompanied by an interview with Williams.

"ONE FOR NEW YORK," excerpted in The Payback Sampler. Edinburgh: Payback Press (Autumn 1996). Payback Press issued One for New York in 1996.

"ENDING WELL," in Men on Divorce. The Other Side of the Story. New York: Harcourt Brace (1997). Edited by Peggy Kaganoff and Susan Spano. Williams writes of his divorce from Carolyn Clopton Williams in 1954.

Men on Divorce: The Other Side of the Story. New York: Harcourt Brace (1997). Edited by Peggy Kaganoff and Susan Spano.

scanned bookjacket for john a. williams: the evolution of a black writer

CASH, Earl A. John A. Williams: The Evolution of a Black Writer. New York: The Third Press (1975). First edition, in dust jacket.

Earl Cash's book, John A. Williams: The Evolution of a Black Writer (1975), is the first I know of that is derived from a dissertation. Gilbert H. Muller's John A. Williams (Twayne's United States Authors Series # 472) was published nine years later and therefore contains far more material. I understand that two more dissertations in French (in addition to N'Goma's) have been written. There are a few others that have been done by Americans, but I've not seen them.

DICKINSON, Gloria Harper. "Self-Concept in the Novels of John A. Williams and Chinua Achebe." 18 January 1978. Howard University doctoral dissertation.

N'GOMA, Eugene. "Les Personnages Expatries Chez trois Romanciers Afro-Americains d'Apres-Guerre: James Baldwin, John A. Williams, William Gardner Smith de 1948 a 1972." Universite de Paris, 1983. Doctoral dissertation.

MULLER, Gilbert H. John A. Williams. Boston: Twayne Publishers (1984). First edition.

TEXTBOOKS

Putting textbooks together is a major job. Gil Muller, another former colleague at LaGuardia, was the force behind this venture. Gil had done a study on me for the Twayne United States Authors Series (#472) in 1984. McGraw-Hill kept changing editors on us, but thanks to Gil's perseverance and encouragement, I stayed on the project. I thought it was important for me to be involved in such a work. The problem, as it developed when the book was published, was that there were few teachers of English who knew my work.

scanned bookjacket for the mcgraw hill introduction to literature

THE MCGRAW-HILL INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE. Co-edited with Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill (1985). First edition, original wrappers.

WAYS IN: APPROACHES TO READING AND WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE. Co-edited with Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill (1994). First edition.

scanned bookjacket for bridges: literature across cultures

BRIDGES: LITERATURE ACROSS CULTURES. Co-edited with Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill (1994). First edition.

WAYS IN: APRROACHES TO READING AND WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE AND FILM. Co-edited with Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill (2003). Second edition.