Jean Toomer | Author
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. After two publications, its original in 1931 and again by a university press in 1989, only 1100 total copies of Essentials had been printed. In November, 1999, the book was finally released for its originally intended general audience. Why do you think this release took so long?
2. Jean Toomer was considered by some to be "ahead of the literary and racial world." How do you think audiences reacted to this book when it was first published in 1931?
3. In the preface, Dr. Charles Johnson asks if a black writer can be too profound, too visionary, and too expansive for a general American readership. Do you think this statement is (or was) true?
4. Why do you think Toomer entitled the collection Essentials?
5. In the afterword, Rudolph Byrd says Toomer was "tirelessly searching for a system of thought that would endow his life with order, purpose, and direction." Why do you think he chose the aphorism to express his thoughts? What other writers use aphorisms, and how do they compare to Toomer?
6. Are you familiar with Gurdjieff's theories of human development? If so, compare and contrast these theories with Toomer's aphorisms.
7. Do you feel this collection of aphorisms identifies more with today's times or when they were originally written?
8. In the afterword, Rudolph Byrd says the presence of a spiritual entity is Toomer's most important and reoccurring theme symbolizing "our search for wholeness, connection, and resolution in an age of fragmentation, alienation, and exploitation." Which aphorisms most represent this theme? How do these aphorisms combat the jeopardies and challenges of life?
9. Are you familiar with Toomer's book Cane? Are there reoccurring themes in the two books?
10. Discuss Toomer's claim that he is of no particular race but the human race.
11. Compare Toomer's ability as a maker of aphorisms with other proverbs you are familiar with. As stated in the introduction, how "heavy" are the thoughts? Are they clear? Complete? Applicable to life?
12. What is your favorite aphorism in this collection? Which one do you most identify with?