Visiting Harriet’s Literary Neighborhood #1: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Dr. John Getz from Xavier University is leading us on a tour of Harriet's "Literary Neighborhood"--authors and work that interacted with her own life and work, even though they were often geographically far apart. CLICK HERE for the full series.

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Looking for some inspiration in these frightening times?  To see a person who summoned amazing courage and strength to triumph against an overwhelming social system, read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. 
 
Published in 1845, Douglass’s autobiography became the best known of what we now call freedom narratives (formerly slave narratives) and one of several that Harriet Beecher Stowe drew on when she wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  Although we know of only one meeting between Harriet and Frederick, they became friends and gave each other much needed public support.
 
Douglass summarizes his book in one brilliant sentence: “You have seen how a man was made a slave; now you shall see how a slave was made a man.”  To see what he means, you can download the book free at http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/dougnarrhp.html
 
As Douglass’s remarkable life unfolded, he added to his autobiography in three more editions, but he’s best known for this one.
 
If you’ve already read Douglass’s story, we’d love to know what incidents or insights made the deepest impression on you or what you found most inspiring or impressive about the book.  Maybe you saw connections with other autobiographies.  We’d like to hear about those too or any other observations or questions about the book.

About the author:
Dr. John Getz, Professor Emeritus, Xavier University, retired in 2017 after teaching English there for 45 years.  He specializes in American literature, especially nineteenth century, as well as the intersections of literature and peace studies. He has written articles on a variety of authors including Edith Wharton, Sherwood Anderson, and Ursula Le Guin. He appears in the documentary film Becoming Harriet Beecher Stowe, scheduled for release in spring 2020 by Fourth Wall Films.   

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