When Winter Come and the Genre of African American Historical Fiction

"We got better than we deserved from them

they got a whole lot worse"

-Like Heroes

York

When Winter Come is a work of historical fiction, which presents actual events from the point of view of people living in a given time period. It presents readers with a story that takes place during a notable period in history. 

Specifically, When Winter Come is a piece of African American Historiography. Therefore, it shares many characteristics with other works of the sub-genre. These include, but are not limited, to the following:

1. It showcases a point of view not recorded in history. 

Nearly all historical information of Lewis and Clark's journey was taken exclusively from their journals. When Winter Come affords a voice to York, Sacagewea, and York's Nez Perce and Slave wives.

2. Historical figures deal with actual events while depicting them in a way that is not recorded in history

When Winter Come focuses on details of Lewis and Clark's expedition that were either forgotten or left out. Poems such as "Like Raven from Head to Toe" and "False Impressions" show the Nez Perces' perspective of York and the explorers. "Art of Seduction" and "Quiet Storm" illustrate the ways in which York's relationship with his Nez Perce wife resembles the harmony of nature. "Learning Curve" and "How to Say Goodbye to the Ocean" shows the devastating and heartbreaking effects of Sacagewea's abduction from her point of view.

3. The historical event complements the story's narrative

African American novels and plays such as Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon and Pearl Cleage's "Flyin' West" are set in times and places of historical significance, but historical events of the periods are not the main focus of the narratives. "Flyin' West" chronicles the lives of women in an all-black town in the west during the Great Migration, but the household of women is the main focus. Likewise, Song of Solomon touches on racism, prejudice and the lynching of Emmitt Till, but these events take a backseat to Milkman's personal journey. 

When Winter Come predominately follows York on his expedition with Lewis and Clark, but the poems focus on York's character development rather than the historical event itself. His gradual enlightenment is apparent in the poem "Without Bibles"

Massa call them heathens ...

Sitting in a river a sweat

be no more than bathing to the captains

but a blind man can see God

in everything the red man do.