Talk:Frances Harper

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From the current revision:

[...] Her first volume of verse, Forest Leaves, was published in 1845, the book was extremely popular and over the next few years went through 20 editions. [...]

[...] In 1892, she published a novel about a rescued black slave and the Reconstructed South, called Iola Leroy, which was the first book published by an African-American. [...]

Isn't that a contradiction? As far as I am concerned, this might mean either

(a) that Iola Leroy was the first novel (not "book") published by an African American; OR

(b) that Forest Leaves was published by a white publisher and Iola Leroy was the first book published by an African American publisher. <KF> 18:08, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC)

Zinn's A People's History of the United States says Iola Leroy or Shadows Uplifted was "the first novel published by a black woman." However, the direct source is not cited within the text. --Beefyt 06:21, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

According to the Harriet E. Wilson article, the first novel written by a black american was Our Nig in 1859. I guess Forrest Leaves, being a collection of poetry, isn't relevant, but this page on UUA has some information about the book. I suggest that that the wording of this article be changed to "...one of the first novels published...," and the wikilink to Forrest Leaves be removed and replaced with some information about the book. --Beefyt 06:31, 22 July 2006 (UTC)