The Contemporary Reviewers
I am a few combined voices of those who reviewed Nella Larson’s Passing for different publications, mostly newspapers, in 1929. My statements will be based on selected reviews, all of which are included in the Norton Critical Edition of Passing (2007, pp. 85-103), e.g.:
- Mary Rennels – “Passing” Is Novel of Longings (April 1929)
- Margaret Cheney Dawson – The Color Line (April 1929)
- Esther Hyman – Passing by Nella Larsen (June 1929)
- Aubrey Bowser – The Cat Came Back (June 1929)
- Mary Griffin – Novel of Race Consciousness (June 1929)
- W E B Du Bois – Passing (July 1929)
Each of my statements/moves will of course mention the source it is inspired by.
The idea for this role came from listening to this episode of the podcast Backlisted—Giving New Life to Old Books in which Mary Rennels’ review and her critique of the end of the novel are discussed. (The part about Passing starts at 20’25”)