Rita Dove’s Mother Love: Revising the Black Aesthetic through the Lens of Western Discourse

Abstract

According to August Wilson, “There are and have always been two distinct and parallel traditions in black art that is, art that is conceived and designed to entertain white society, and art that feeds the spirit and celebrates the life of black America by designing its strategies for survival and prosperity.” While many critics find merit in Wilson’s statement, others find his argument problematic, for in a sense, Wilson limits African American literary production to two narrowly defined categories. It is vital to challenge Wilson’s assertion for his statement implies that the black artist who does not subscribe to the prevailing concept of what black art is or should be is selling out to the white establishment, or as Wilson says “crossing over.” Unfortunately, writers who have elected to draw upon Western literary traditions, rather than African or African American literary traditions, have been accused of constructing narratives that are directed toward a white readership. Adrienne Kennedy, Robert Hayden, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Rita Dove, for example, have all been ostracized for their decision to couch their narratives in British history and culture and Greek and Roman mythology. Exploring the works of these writers such as these though, reveals that their works are authentically black texts.