- Narratology in the Fiction of James Weldon Johnson
- Soul Talk: The Language of African American Literature
- The Life and Poetry of Melvin B. Tolson: A Critical Introduction
Articles:
- "Metaphors of the Text: Notes on the Rhetoric of James Weldon Johnson" (African Literature Today, 1985)
- "The Significance of the Blues Tradition for African American Literature" (Black American Literature Forum, 1990)
- "The African-American Literary Canon: A Critical Perspective" (College English, 1993)
- "The Poetics of Jazz in the Works of Ralph Ellison" (Callaloo, 1995)
- "The Critical Reception of African-American Poetry: A Historical Survey" (African American Review, 1997)
- "The African-American Novel: A Changing Context" (MELUS, 2000)
- "The Language of African-American Literature: A Historical Perspective" (African American Research Perspectives, 2002)
- "The Significance of the Harlem Renaissance for African-American Literature" (African American Review, 2004)
- "The Role of the African-American Intellectual in American Society: A Historical Perspective" (Journal of African American History, 2006)
- "The Future of African-American Literature: A Critical Assessment" (African American Review, 2008)