In the Introduction to Uncle Tom's Children, Richard Yarborough makes reference to, as he calls it, "an oft-quoted statement" of Wright's concerning this publication as a whole. Yarborough writes that Wright himself criticized this collection harshly by stating, "When the reviews of that book began to appear, I realized that I had made an awfully naive mistake. I found that I had written a book which even bankers' daughters could read and weep over and feel good about." For Wright, this was not a mark of good literature but rather a failure of his to arouse action. As a matter of fact, Yarborough continues by explaining that Wright's words were actually a criticism of the American public and "their capacity to defuse the potency of harsh critique through the very act of commercial consumption and subsequent emotional release. In other words, mainstream America (in particular white...