The FBI as Literary Critic

Perhaps the most surprising of J. Edgar Hoover’s many obsessions was his interest in African American writing. Beginning with the Harlem Renaissance, Hoover and his G-men tried to anticipate political unrest through close readings and interpretations of such authors as Claude McKay, Richard Wright, and Sonia Sanchez. Washington University professor William J. Maxwell uncovers this long-hidden chapter in the history of American surveillance and American literature.

This program is presented in partnership with the Center for the Humanities at Washington University.