Clear Word and Third Sight

“John’s contribution to literary studies and postcolonial studies is her very utterance and substantiation of the clear word as an imperative ‘tool of unity and weapon against oppression’ for the African diasporic community, both in its life and in its art.” - Gena Chang-Campbell , Caribbean Studies

"[A]n inspiring addition to a growing literary field. . . ." - Kate Wright, English

"[T]his [book] is written by a scholar of great promise in her lucid and often elegant writing, her tireless scholarship and the intellectual courage of taking this on." - Nancy R. Crillo , Symploke

"The long-awaited re-examination of some of the writings that collectively fall under the heading of negritude has brought us this study. It is well worth the wait. . . . [T]his study is thorough and informative. It is also provocative, and that's to its credit." - Keith Q. Warner , Research in African Literatures

“Clear Word and Third Sight casts new light upon the argument of alternative consciousness by using relatively unknown writers and poets, particularly from the English and French West Indies, along with better known diasporic and American writers. It will be of significant interest to scholars concerned with discourses of difference rooted in notions of being and understanding that are not Western or Euro-centered.” - Percy C. Hintzen, author of West Indian in the West: Self-Representations in an Immigrant Community

“Clear Word and Third Sight itself offers clarity and vision in a new and insightful reading of African diaspora literatures. Catherine A. John offers a necessary revisiting of negritude, a confidence in her examination of coloniality and gendered identity, and an embrace of magic and spirit and poetry." - Carole Boyce Davies, Florida International University