Ann Plato of Hartford: Pioneering Black Writer

Stranger in a Strange Land:  Ann Plato’s Strategy for Autonomy as Evidenced in Essays; Including Biographies and Miscellaneous Pieces, in Prose and Poetry



Join Antoinette Brim-Bell for a fascinating discussion about Ann Plato, who in 1841 became the fist African American writer to publish a collection of essays.
 
When scrutinized through a white canonical literary lens or juxtaposed with accepted African American authors, her work is generally criticized for being derivative and of “little literary merit,” rendering Plato a footnote in history. This presentation will explore Ann Plato’s literature against this assessment, situating the publication of essays as a treatise that strategically optimizes the author’s opportunity for social and physical mobility.

This Hartford History Series event is produced in collaboration with Capital Community College.



Please register here: https://bit.ly/2022HHS