A Short History of African American Literature is a concise introduction to a multifaceted body of writing engaging with slavery, racism and the idea of racial difference. Foregrounding the contemporary trend of understanding literature against its socio-historical background, this volume tracks the evolution of African American literature from the arrival of the first slaving ships in North America across the Atlantic in the seventeenth century. It highlights the unique influences of oral culture, music and performance, among a people long denied education. The volume links the various genres of writing to the brutal experience of slavery and the collective memory of trauma, even as it celebrates the humour and irony that shaped black identity. Detailed timelines with each chapter anchor the writings in specific historical contexts, with extensive discussions of writers and poets in each period underlining the trajectory of this body of literature.