J. Poindexter, Colored

Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury), 1876-1944Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 259K words
Chapters: 26

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.J. Poindexter, Colored by Irvin S. CobbAuthor: Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury), 1876-1944,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 9, 2011

Editor's review

J. Poindexter, Colored by Irvin S. Cobb is a novel available as a Project Gutenberg public-domain ebook. Cobb was an early American writer and humor columnist whose work often carries strong period colloquialism and regional color. The book centers on a Black character, J. Poindexter, and tells the story through his viewpoint, reflecting race relations and everyday experience in early twentieth-century America. Its value is as a historical sample: readers can see how a white writer of the time shaped a Black narrator, along with the humor, dialect, and stereotypes mixed in. The Project Gutenberg edition is free and easy to obtain, making it useful supplementary material for studying American literary history or racial narrative. A caution: the language and characterization carry the limits of their era, so contemporary readers should read critically and understand the book in its historical context, not take its portrayals as true representations of a group.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying early twentieth-century American literature and racial narrative
Readers interested in American Southern or regional humor writing
College students who need public-domain English texts for critical reading practice
Literature enthusiasts curious about old-style dialect narration

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting contemporary diverse perspectives and positive racial portrayals
Readers with little tolerance for old dialect spelling and period prejudice
Casual readers who want light humor without reflecting on historical context

Reading tips

Before reading, learn about Cobb's era and regional background; this helps with the dialect and humor.
With dialect spelling, sound the words out to recover the meaning rather than puzzling over each letter, so the reading rhythm isn't broken.
Compare the narrator's portrayal of Poindexter with contemporary racial writing and keep brief reading notes.
For class discussion, choose key dialogue passages and analyze the narrative viewpoint and how stereotypes are presented.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Does the title and content of this book carry racial overtones?

The word "Colored" in the title was a common racial term in early twentieth-century America and is no longer acceptable. The book centers on a Black character but comes from a white writer, so it inevitably carries the prejudices and stereotypes of its time. Read it critically as a historical text, not as an objective portrayal of a group.

What English level does reading this book require?

The book contains dialect spelling and early colloquial expression, a challenge for non-native readers. Upper-intermediate English reading ability is advisable, or read with notes and background material. If you only want the gist, look up an introduction first and then go to the original.

Does the Project Gutenberg edition have notes or an introduction?

The Project Gutenberg edition is usually the public-domain original text, generally without modern editorial notes or an introduction. Readers need to supply the author's background and period context themselves, or use outside material to understand the dialect, humor, and racial narrative.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to American literature?

It is not a good first choice. It works better as supplementary material for a topic on American literary history or racial narrative, for readers with some background. If you are new to American literature, start with contemporary works or clearer classics, then return to period texts like this.

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About the author

Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury), 1876-1944 Author

Irvin S. Cobb (1876–1944) was an American humorist and war correspondent. The library holds twenty-five of his works, which fall roughly into two groups. One is set in a fictional Kentucky town, including Old Judge Priest, Back Home and Fibble, D.D., where characters such as Judge Priest bring Southern local life and manners to the page in a humorous yet warm tone. The other consists of reports and sketches from the First World War, such as The Glory of the Coming, Paths of Glory and Europe Revised, marked by close observation and unhurried narration. His prose stands between the humorous sketch and news reportage, often using colloquial dialogue and exaggerated detail for effect. Public information is limited, so this note describes his writing only as reflected in the works held here.