Trances, Dances and Vociferations

Trances, Dances and Vociferationsprovides a compelling feminist analysis of gender politics in the works of four major Africana women writers: Toni Morrison, Michelle Cliff, Assia Djebar, and Paule Marshall. Nada Elia explores the way in which black women characters use conjuring, double entendre, and song to empower, liberate and determine their own female insurgency. She also explains how African and Afrodiasporic women have been forced to rewrite history and substitute a communal and individual wholeness for alienation and separation in many different settings, from Algeria to Oklahoma. Ranging over works including Marshall's Praisesong forthe Widow,Djebar's A Sister to Scheherazade,Cliff's NoTelephone to Heavenand Morrison's Jazzand Beloved,Elia offers essential and provocative insights into the works of some of our most influential Africana women authors today.