William J. Maxwell has been inaugurated as the foundational Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature within Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. A lecture and gathering to honor his appointment took place on April 24 at Whittemore House.
Joining the WashU faculty in 2009, Maxwell instructs within the English and African and African American Studies departments. His research delves into contemporary American and African American literature, alongside its connections to U.S. political history.
“Bill Maxwell is a remarkable scholar, an accomplished literary historian, and a devoted member of the university community,” remarked Chancellor Andrew D. Martin. “Whether examining the influence of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI on midcentury Black authors, rediscovering Claude McKay’s obscured novel ‘Romance in Marseille,’ or analyzing James Baldwin’s resurgence in the 21st century, Bill serves as both a guide and an exemplar for students and faculty alike.”
During the installation event, Feng Sheng Hu, the Richard G. Engelsmann Dean of Arts & Sciences and the Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor, acknowledged Maxwell’s “extensive and esteemed academic trajectory” as the author or editor of five books on African and African American literature, along with countless essays in scholarly and mainstream publications.
“Ceremonies for professorship installations are among my most cherished traditions at WashU,” Hu continued. “They unite us in appreciation of the astonishing contributions of our faculty and the generosity of those who facilitate these achievements.”
Maxwell’s installation speech, titled “Fannie Hurst, or the Drama of the White African Americanist,” examined Hurst’s prominence throughout much of the 20th century as one of the “highest-paid, most publicized, most prolific, and most vocal creative writers and liberal advocates in the U.S.”
Today, Hurst is primarily remembered for her 1933 novel “Imitation of Life,” which was partially conceived during a road trip with her companion Zora Neale Hurston. The novel narrates the dynamics between a white single mother, her African American business partner, and the daughters they both neglect.
“Much like Harriet Beecher Stowe’s ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ its precursory figure in sentimental agitation, ‘Imitation of Life’ presents a troubling, well-intentioned irony,” Maxwell stated. Hurst’s work, simultaneously progressive and paternalistic, “brought about no societal upheavals but inspired numerous studio films, popular telenovelas, postmodern drag performances, late-career REM singles, and an array of Black parodies across all genres, both caustic and absurd.”
Despite the limitations of the book, Maxwell noted, “I believe she recognized this: that all of us Americans are perpetually engaged in interracial interactions—passionate and enlightening, liberating and hurtful, and often unequal—and that we and our nation are the collective essence woven from these exchanges.”
Watch the complete ceremony on the Ampersand website.
About William J. Maxwell
Hailing from Jersey City, N.J., Maxwell attained a bachelor’s degree with distinction from Columbia University in 1984. He then pursued a master’s and a PhD in English from Duke University as an Angier B. Duke Fellow. Before joining WashU in 2009, he taught at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, the College of William and Mary, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was elected president of the Modernist Studies Association in 2021 and served as a visiting scholar at New York University in 2022.
Maxwell has authored five books. His notable works include “F.B. Eyes: How J. Edgar Hoover’s Ghostreaders Framed African American Literature” (2015), which garnered an American Book Award, and “New Negro, Old Left: African American Writing and Communism between the Wars” (1999). He edited “James Baldwin: The FBI File” (2017); Claude McKay’s “Complete Poems” (2004, 2008, 2013); and, co-edited with Gary Holcomb, McKay’s previously unpublished work “Romance in Marseille” (2020), which earned recognition as a New York Times book of the week and New York Magazine book of the year. His forthcoming book, “James Baldwinism: The Baldwin Revival and Twenty-First Century Memory,” delineates how and why Baldwin became the 20th-century African American author most revered in the 21st century. Maxwell’s essays and reviews have been featured in various academic and popular journals including The American Historical Review, Callaloo, The Common Reader, Harper’s, The Irish Times, The Journal of American History, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Politico, Publishers Weekly, Salon, and the Times Literary Supplement.
At WashU, Maxwell has directed both the graduate and undergraduate English programs. He was elected to the board of PMLA, the journal of the Modern Language Association, in 2024 and has engaged extensively as a scholarly editor, currently contributing to American Literary History and WashU’s James Baldwin Review.
About Fannie Hurst
Born in Hamilton, Ohio, in 1885, Hurst relocated to St. Louis in her early childhood and later attended Washington University. Her first published tale, “Ain’t Life Wonderful,” appeared in the St. Louis magazine Reedy’s Mirror during her junior year. As a senior, she composed the book and lyrics for a comic opera, “The Official Chaperon,” that was showcased on campus. She graduated in 1909.
Relocating to New York City to pursue a writing vocation, Hurst sustained herself through various odd jobs, including work as a waitress, sales assistant, and actress. Those experiences ignited a lasting fascination with the issues facing poor and working-class individuals. In 1912, she sold her inaugural story to the Saturday Evening Post and, in 1914, published her first collection, “Just Around the Corner.”
Post-World War I, Hurst rose to prominence as one of the nation’s most beloved writers, producing 19 novels, over 300 short stories, four plays that debuted on Broadway, a full-length autobiography, and an autobiographical memoir, along with numerous magazine articles, personal essays, and screenplays. She also actively engaged with social justice organizations and advocated for issues related to feminism and African American civil rights.
In 1953, Hurst received an honorary degree from WashU. Alongside the creation of the new professorship, WashU’s Hurst Lounge, which hosts numerous readings each semester, and the long-standing Visiting Hurst Professorship that invites top writers to campus, are named in her honor. She passed away in 1968.
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