Surviving Fire
Failure as a gateway to a cultural and literary canon
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21763175 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yohann Lucas (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 23.2 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | E-rea (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1638-1718 • E-ISSN: 1638-1718 |
| Publisher | OpenEdition (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.4000/16eaw |
| OpenAlex | W7164852015 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
This article aims to explore the trajectory of the African American literary magazine Fire!!, which went from that of a nearly complete failure to that of a historical and literary object which has now acquired a special, canonical place in African American culture and studies. The magazine’s catastrophic initial reception did not hamper its subsequent reappraisal, and even facilitated it to some extent. Analyzing reviews and excerpts from the magazine, on the one hand, and historiographic accounts of the Harlem Renaissance on the other, this article delineates the mechanisms which enabled Fire!! to have a successful afterlife, ultimately exploring the interlacing of the notions of failure and canonicity
Drama · The Renaissance · American Literature and Humor Studies · Cultural History and Identity Formation · Literature: history, themes, analysis
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |