Article: Nella Larsen and the Intertextual Geography of Quicksand.(Critical Essay)

Toward the middle of her 1928 novel Quicksand, Nella Larsen thematizes her authorial relation to the literary past in a scene that uncannily adumbrates the future demise of her career. Larsen's protagonist, Helga Crane, pores over the writing of her new employer, Mrs. Hayes-Rore, a prominent lecturer on "the race problem" who has hired Helga to edit her speeches. But the lectures, as Helga interprets them, "proved to be merely patchworks of others' speeches and opinions." As she puts her own hand to Mrs. Hayes-Rore's writing, in fact, Helga mentally accuses her employer of that most serious of authorial crimes:

Helga had heard other lecturers say the same things ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!