William J. Maxwell is a professor of English and African American studies at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of the widely acclaimed F.B. Eyes: How J. Edgar Ho...view moreWilliam J. Maxwell is a professor of English and African American studies at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of the widely acclaimed F.B. Eyes: How J. Edgar Hoover’s Ghostreaders Framed African American Literature, winner of a 2016 American Book Award, and New Negro, Old Left: African-American Writing and Communism Between the Wars. He is also the creator and curator of the F.B. Eyes Digital Archive, which presents high-resolution copies of dozens of FBI files on African American authors and literary institutions obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. He lives with his family in St. Louis, Missouri.view less