“The Whole Ensemble”: Gwendolyn Bennett, Josephine Baker, and Interartistic Exchange in Black American Modernism

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Reader’s Report, “Visualizing Josephine Baker: Gwendolyn Bennett & the Diasporic Black Arts Community”

“Visualizing Josephine Baker: Gwendolyn Bennett & the Diasporic Black Arts Community” examines Gwendolyn Bennett’s writings on Baker’s appearance in France in 1925 and 1926. Long overlooked in most discussions of the New Negro Movement or the Harlem Renaissance, Bennett was in Paris at the same time as Baker and wrote about Baker for the journal Crisis. The essay notes that Bennett’s writings offer a Black American woman’s perspective on the famous entertainer, a perspective not normally discussed or privileged in discussions about Baker. As the author notes, “Bennett adopts strategies from verbal, visual, and performing arts to extricate the dancer from the racist arenas of minstrelsy and Primitivism and position her within an ensemble of talented artists on a sophisticated, urban, international stage” (p. 5). Moreover, Bennett “utilizes call and response patterns to transform racialized sexual objectification into collective affirmation of Black female beauty and artistry” (p. 24). The essay raised some valuable points about a poet who deserves more recognition. My recommendation is acceptance with revisions.

One of the values of the nicely illustrated essay is the way it highlights Bennett’s unique perspective as an “insider” watching a black female entertainer in a foreign country. As the author notes, the contemporaneous commentary on Baker privileged white American and white European speakers and spectators. There is immense value in knowing how an African American woman of Baker’s time perceived Baker. In addition, the essay reveals that, although there is a published collection of Bennett’s writings, Bennet is still glossed over in discussions of New Negro writers.

My suggestions for revisions revolve primarily around the many quotes in the essay. It sometimes was not clear when a block quote was starting. For example, on p. 8, a paragraph begins “On the night of October second…” The context suggests that this is a block quote from Bennett, but there is no opening quotation marks to indicate this. This happens frequently throughout the essay, so that it is implied that the reader is reading a quote but one is not certain because of the lack of opening quotation marks. It happens again, for example, at the bottom of p. 9 is the paragraph beginning “The French were not colorblind…” Is this a quote by Sharpley-Whiting? In addition, some of the shorter quotations are attributed to the wrong scholar. The quote attributed to Gates on p. 13 (“such metonymic representations…”) is a quote from Thaggert, who apparently references Gates but is not quoting him. The author should carefully check to make sure that the citations and quotes are correct.

I think the larger claim could be more ambitious. Bennett examines Baker on stage, film and discussions of her in newspapers. Bennett writes of or depicts Baker in essays, poems, and drawings. How do the various forms of media or art impact Bennett’s depiction of Baker? (What does Bennett accomplish in a poem that she is not able to accomplish in the artwork?)

Below, I have some additional stylistic/editing suggestions:

• Some colloquial phrases could be revised, for example “FOMO” on page 10.

• 15: “bastard child” – slightly offensive?

• This is a stylistic comment but I would suggest removing “your” (p.7: “… it whets your appetite…”) or “you” (p.6: “If you’ve ever been to an African American church service…”)

Author Response

Thank you very much for this generous and thoughtful report. I am particularly grateful for the excellent questions: "How do the various forms of media or art impact Bennett’s depiction of Baker? (What does Bennett accomplish in a poem that she is not able to accomplish in the artwork?)." I will considers these questions as I revise and will also accept your stylistic/editing suggestions.

I am so sorry you had to read a version that removed the formatting of block quotations and muddled citations. I have double checked, and the Word doc I submitted to the Humanities portal had all block quotations properly formatted (which is why there are no quotation marks around longer quotations). It also accurately attributed the Gates quotation to Thaggert (In fact, I debated about whether to go to the original source, but decided not to because I wanted to give credit to Thaggert for her work and for framing the conversation so lucidly).

This formatting glitch is a problem with the Humanities portal, and I hope they will address it, as it reflects badly on authors, making their work appear sloppy and improperly cited. It also makes readers' jobs more difficult. After the other reader noted the same issue with block quotations, I requested a a copy of the version sent to readers. I found that document practically illegible, so I commend you for your patience and effort to read and make sense of it.

Thank you for your time, attention, and insights.

Reviewer 2 Report

“Visualizing” is an article that deserves to be published. Not enough is known about Gwendolyn Bennett, and this piece begins to fill that space in particularly useful ways. The research, especially the archival research, is thorough and exhaustive. The argument is clear, complex, and well controlled, especially as the piece steps from one large issue to another. The visual images are particularly striking and many are unusual. 

Overall, an excellent article. 

I have a few suggestions (below), none of which are substantive except the question about including the posters, which speaks to the issue of what do we reprint—and place in the contemporary memory—from the past and what could be left to time passing. 

6          rephrase “exotic Otherness” – white artists and audiences who constructed her as an exotic Other? 

11        italicize Opportunity 

Figure 2 – posters??? The third poster in the line captures Baker well, but I have misgivings about the first and second one because the caricatures are so definitive. Are there others that might represent Baker more as she might like? Do all three need to be included? If all are included, perhaps some immediate discussion of them as caricatures? Or maybe these posters, such powerful visual tools, could be excluded so that emphasis goes to your claim (114) that Bennett was trying to extricate Baker from “the racist arenas….” 

[nice Hamilton reference] 

45        great section about Gwendolyn Bennett and her interpretation 

170      I tend to still avoid using “you” in articles, but the standard is changing and it may engage the audience.  

 223     is this paragraph a quotation? Indent extended quotes throughout. 

254      call and response? 

287      [sic] in italics or not? And could the line simply be corrected and footnoted so that Bennett’s claims rather than misspellings are highlighted? 

308      a word stronger than slipshod? 

314      “sex workers” rather than “prostitutes” – always my preference but I know it’s not universal 

319      “integrated” rather than “unsegregated” 

387      “craved” 

455      I’m not sure Butler works here – this performance is about much more than performativity. Brown’s theory feels more comfortable. 

480      is “unheard” necessary? 

490      “was” a sensitive antenna or “had”? 

            This is a great cover – and I hadn’t made the Baker connection before. 

511      how about: by combining elements of Art Nouveau, the soft feminine…., with the geometric …. 

538/539           “vogue” repeated. How about “Once vogue, Black Deco’s artistic stock….” 

            Or eliminate one of them. 

637      Perhaps: “hearing the call of an intoxicating musical rhythm, and responding.” 

747      end sentence with “upheaval.” 

Author Response

Thank you so much for your generous and very helpful report. I have accepted your editorial and stylistic suggestions, and the essay is much improved because of them. Small edits make a significant difference!

I am so sorry you had to read a version where the block quotation formatting was removed. I have double checked, and the Word doc I submitted to the journal portal was properly formatted and cited. After I received your report, I requested a copy of the version sent to readers and was very upset to discover the formatting glitch. It's a serious problem with the platform, as it makes authors' work look sloppy and unethical. It also makes the readers' job more difficult. I found the version readers received almost illegible, so I commend you for your effort to read and make sense of it. 

Thank you for your time, attention, and insights.