University of Massachusetts Press Fictional Blues: Narrative Self-Invention from Bessie Smith to Jack White (African American Intellectual History)

The familiar story of Delta blues musician Robert Johnson, who sold his soul to the devil at a Mississippi crossroads in exchange for guitar virtuosity, and the violent stereotypes evoked by legendary blues "bad men" like Stagger Lee undergird the persistent racial myths surrounding "authentic" blues expression. Fictional Blues unpacks the figure of the American blues performer, moving from early singers such as Ma Rainey and Big Mama Thornton to contemporary musicians such as Amy Winehouse, Rhiannon Giddens, and Jack White to reveal that blues makers have long used their songs, performances, interviews, and writings to invent personas that resist racial, social, economic, and gendered oppression.Using examples of fictional and real-life blues artists culled from popular music and literary works from writers such as Walter Mosley, Alice Walker, and Sherman Alexie, Kimberly Mack demonstrates that the stories blues musicians construct about their lives (however factually slippery) are inextricably linked to the "primary story" of the narrative blues tradition, in which autobiography fuels musicians' reclamation of power and agency. Review The perspective Mack offers on blues mythology is fresh and compelling. Fictional Blues is well-researched, engaging, clear, confident, and important.--Emily J. Lordi, author of Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American LiteratureMack provides a complex mapping of American blues music to investigate the work it does as a multifaceted cultural trope, from its inception in the Jim Crow South to its global dissemination in the twenty-first century. Fictional Blues is certain to make an impact in African American studies, along with American literary and cultural studies writ large.--Caroline A. Streeter, author of Tragic No More: Mixed-Race Women and the Nexus of Sex and CelebrityWhen I got into the blues as a teenager, I fully bought into the mythology of tragic mystery men encountering the Devil at some crossroads. If only I'd had Kim Mack's book. It illuminates the whole history of the blues as a unique blend of tall tales and self-revelation, from Ma Rainey's gold-neck theatrics to Jack White's post-postmodern character act. A fun and very necessary read.--Ann Powers, author of Good Booty: Love And Sex, Black & White, Body And Soul In American MusicWith Fictional Blues, Kimberly Mack powerfully argues that the music of blues artists and their fictive literary kin, offer the most foundational of American storytelling and attendant claims of authenticity, making and remaking themselves--and their listeners and readers--in the process.--Mark Anthony Neal, author of Looking for Leroy: Illegible Black MasculinitiesKimberly Mack explores her own route through the history of blues, linking figures and approaches from music and literature, and drawing creative connections that suggest new ways of approaching old stories. Exploring blues as a literary trope and heroic narrative, she roams from the complex relationships of The Color Purple to the postmodern mystifications of Jack White, opening provocative discussions and suggesting a broader understanding of blues and the many ways it intersects American culture.--Elijah Wald, author of Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues About the Author Kimberly Mack is assistant professor of African American literature at the University of Toledo.