Cane

“Apart from its poetic pleasures, Toomer’s uncommon text is vital reading for anyone curious about what the Harlem Renaissance most valued, and how its preferences were actively passed down.” Read more...

The best books on The Harlem Renaissance

William J. Maxwell, Literary Scholar

“Cane is one of the most beautiful novels in all of American literature. It eschews straightforward storytelling; it’s a very experimental book in both form and content….The women who animated Toomer’s Cane were very compelling, but later black writers used Toomer’s archetypes as starting points for more fully-realized characters.” Read more...

The Best African American Literature

Farah Jasmine Griffin, Literary Scholar