Here is a poet's true evocation of time, of the fact that we all are destined to live in the puzzling, enticing tragi-comedy of our cultural and personal origins. David Roderick has imagined that destiny in a memorable new way. --Robert Pinsky.

Like cotton, indigo has defied its humble origins. Left alone it might have been a regional plant with minimal reach, a localized way of dyeing textiles, paper, and other goods with a bit of blue. But when blue became the most popular color for the textiles that Britain turned out in large quantities in the eighteenth century, the South Carolina indigo that colored most of this cloth became a major component in transatlantic commodity chains. In Red, White, and Black Make Blue, Andrea Feeser tells the stories of all the peoples who made indigo a key part of the colonial South Carolina experience as she explores indigo's relationships to land use, slave labor, textile production and use, sartorial expression, and fortune building. In the eighteenth century, indigo played a central role in the development of South Carolina. The popularity of the color blue among the upper and lower classes ensured a high demand for indigo, and the climate in the region proved sound for its cultivation. Cheap labor by slaves—both black and Native American—made commoditization of indigo possible. And due to land grabs by colonists from the enslaved or expelled indigenous peoples, the expansion into the backcountry made plenty of land available on which to cultivate the crop. Feeser recounts specific histories—uncovered for the first time during her research—of how the Native Americans and African slaves made the success of indigo in South Carolina possible. She also emphasizes the material culture around particular objects, including maps, prints, paintings, and clothing. Red, White, and Black Make Blue is a fraught and compelling history of both exploitation and empowerment, revealing the legacy of a modest plant with an outsized impact.

While spending the summer in Williamsburg, young photographer Kelly Brennan becomes intrigued by mysterious events at her Aunt Alma's spooky old house.

An aged Indian chief fears that white strangers who have visited his village will return to destroy the Indian way of life.

Like cotton, indigo has defied its humble origins. Left alone it might have been a regional plant with minimal reach, a localized way of dyeing textiles, paper, and other goods with a bit of blue. But when blue became the most popular color for the textiles that Britain turned out in large quantities in the eighteenth century, the South Carolina indigo that colored most of this cloth became a major component in transatlantic commodity chains. In Red, White, and Black Make Blue, Andrea Feeser tells the stories of all the peoples who made indigo a key part of the colonial South Carolina experience as she explores indigo's relationships to land use, slave labor, textile production and use, sartorial expression, and fortune building. In the eighteenth century, indigo played a central role in the development of South Carolina. The popularity of the color blue among the upper and lower classes ensured a high demand for indigo, and the climate in the region proved sound for its cultivation. Cheap labor by slaves—both black and Native American—made commoditization of indigo possible. And due to land grabs by colonists from the enslaved or expelled indigenous peoples, the expansion into the backcountry made plenty of land available on which to cultivate the crop. Feeser recounts specific histories—uncovered for the first time during her research—of how the Native Americans and African slaves made the success of indigo in South Carolina possible. She also emphasizes the material culture around particular objects, including maps, prints, paintings, and clothing. Red, White, and Black Make Blue is a fraught and compelling history of both exploitation and empowerment, revealing the legacy of a modest plant with an outsized impact.

Fiction from the old British Commonwealth once took second place to the literature of England and the United States, but his is no longer the case. Writers from around the globe-Africa, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, and the Caribbean-have recorded their encounters with colonialism from its beginnings to its collapse and aftermath to produce an impressive body of work that internationalizes literature in English. Colonial and Postcolonial Fiction in English draws from this great common wealth of writing of offer 35 selections by major writers from both indigenous and settler cultures, from the nineteenth century through the contemporary era. The anthology is organized into sets of short stories and stand-alone selections from significant novels; colonial, postcolonial, immigrant, and personal encounters are represented. Each section includes a general introduction to help readers place the works in historical and cultural perspective. Biographical and critical material is provided for each writer, along with commentary on each selection. This anthology is an appropriate textbook for courses in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies and in Literature and Cultural Studies. It will also interest general readers.