Around link land

This post by Sandra Beasley, a writer who quit her job during a recession to write full time, really hit home for me. She does have a book under contract, so it's a smart move. Still, I see the risks.
A new collection of essays by Chinua Achebe. Reviewed in the Christian Science Monitor.
I saw This Is It (the Michael Jackson rehearsal film) this weekend. Enjoyed it - I'll always enjoy his music. Now I see that there's a book about his final years. I'm interested in it, but afraid it will be so sad and chaotic. Here's a mediabistro post on it.
There's a new Coretta Scott King book out - by Ntozake Shange. Looks wonderful.
Carleen Brice weighs in on the Precious debate (which is also a debate, again, about Sapphire's novel, Push).
Do you know about The Black Book. It's a compendium of images from Black history in the U.S. A 35th anniversary edition is out now. The original editor was Toni Morrison. Thanks to Felicia Pride for writing about this on TheRoot.com.

The Help and resentment

I am now considering reading Kathryn Stockett's novel "The Help."

If you've been following the fawning and the criticism of the book, you'll know why I am actually taking time to think about whether I want to read it.

If you haven't, here's my quick overview of the brouhaha:
Stockett is a southern-born white woman who has written a book with Black maids speaking in dialect. Her white female protagonist goes and captures their oral stories.

The book has gotten so much attention and great reviews and her publishing story is even being covered. (The book was rejected by scores of literary agents before she hit paydirt).

I am (was) so reluctant to even see this book, much less read it. Honestly I know that I harbor more than a little resentment when Black stories told by white authors/protagonists are seen as literary victories.

I wonder ...
if there is a Black author whose book, published in the same year, isn't getting even half the attention of this tale.
if there are Black authors who can't even get signed to an agent, much less a publishing house, because their story isn't seen as hot, or authentic, or something.
how many non-Black readers will pick up this book, buy it, read it and spread the word, but will not see books by Black authors because of the way bookstores or organized, or because those books don't receive coverage, or because they just don't look for them.
if this story comes to define the contemporary reading of Black women in the servant class in the South.
if reading it will be annoying ... will I constantly question the voice, the dialect, the motivations.

I am leaning toward reading it because ...
a friend I trust has read it and found it worthwhile.
it's really shallow to have this much resentment about a title I haven' t even read.
it will likely be made into a big Hollywood movie with a great African American cast and we don't get many of those, so I'll have to go see it.
I'm in an MFA program and I really have to make myself read outside of my pleasure reading bounds.
secretly, I want to know what's in her book that's causing all the attention.

I don't begrudge her attention, I think. I just wish I could hear so much attention lavished on my favorite African American authors writing about the Southern experience.

More on Stockett and The Help:
Amazon listing

Kathryn Stockett's site
Huffington Post

The Huffington Post piece links to others ... so it's a good start.

Link roundup - starting with Mrs. Obama

Lots of coverage about the new book by the editors of the Mrs. O blog. I've been a fan of the blog and am curious about the book. I haven't yet held a copy in my hands, that final test of whether I'll make the leap and buy a book. Here are a few links in case you haven't read it yet.

"Taking a Hard-bound look at first lady's fashionableness," Washington Post

Book explores Michelle [Obama's] icon status, Politico


And other links -
I read about Jericho Brown receiving the Whiting Award on Tayari Jones' blog. Now here he is featured on mediabistro's galleycat. Cool.
As always, there are jobs on the Practicing Writing blog :) Plus an extension of the Lilith contest in fiction - the fiction must portray Jewish women. And since I've known at least one Jewish woman of African descent, this fits in here. (Our world is wide).
Though I am from South Carolina, I had not heard the story of Edith Childs, the Greenwood, S.C. woman behind the Obama campaign's "Fired up and ready to go" phrase. Here's Candidate Obama telling the story. Thanks to Literary Obama for the link to the video.
Marie NDiaye won the Prix Goncourt. I read about her last week. I'm disappointed to see that the prize amount is so low ... abut $15 according to the LA Times book blog. Hopefully she'll get a lot of attention and that will be the real reward.

Links and things

From the Favorite Authors File
Algonquin Books will publish Tayari Jones' next novel, The Silver Girl. I saw this on Twitter, so I'm not sure what to link to - Algonquin doesn't have a press release up about it. But it's coming out next spring. I'm excited! I've been reading Tayari Jones' post about this work for a long time, so it feels a little like waving at her throughout the journey. Buying the hard copy will be the hug I'd give her at the end of this race, you know, if it were a race and if it wouldn't be weird and fan-girly.

Movies
I saw Good Hair finally this weekend. (The Chris Rock movie, that is. I actually see good hair, lower case, every morning in the mirror ;) I liked it mostly - it was funny and sad and gave me somethings to think about and chat out with girlfriends. I may write more about it later, but oddly one thing that I can't get out of my head is that some women are paying $1,000 for a weave! I feel so naive ... and cheap.

Anyway, I thought it was really strange not to see a preview of Precious, the movie based on Sapphire's novel, Push, included in the trailers before Good Hair. Why wasn't that a natural fit? Usually, if you see a movie that is targeted to a Black audience, every possible movie with at least one Black character is in the trailer lineup - even if it's completely the wrong demographic. Are Black women not considered a key demographic for Precious? Or do the Good Hair folks not want Precious bringing us down before we see Chris Rock?
Here's an article on the making of Precious from the NYTimes.

BTW, I'm glad I have the red-cover version of PUSH. I like it better than the movie tie-in cover with Precious and butterfly wings. The red cover is so strong and big, I think. It doesn't blend in.

French Writer to Watch
Marie NDiaye, author of "Trois Femmes Puissantes" (Three Powerful Women), has been named as one of the frontrunners for a top French literature prize, the Goncourt. The prize will be announced next week. Read about her work here.
I don't see Three Powerful Women in Amazon, but did find other titles here.

More proof that librarians rock

I listened to this story on the way to work this morning. And I teared up. Read it or listen to it here. It's a Story Corps interview.

It reminded me of all the times librarians have been helpful to me.

Back in the link groove

The Chicago Tribune has a new literary blog - Printers Row.
I want to read E. Lynn Harris' last novel, but it makes me sad to think about it. Mama Dearest is the title.
Read Tananarive Due's remembrance of E. Lynn Harris on her blog.

E. Lynn Harris is one of the author's I really would have loved to see in person. It's still amazing to me that I never did hear him read in person. Certainly, had he ever been somewhere that I could get to, I would have gone.

I hear such wonderful things about his events - Tananarive Due mentions them in her blog post as well.

When I was a teenager, James Baldwin was the author I really wanted to meet. And it seemed that one day, when I was out in the world, I surely would meet him. When he died I was still in high school and was saddened for the loss of one of our great American writers. And I had a selfish thought too about not ever having the chance to see him and hear him in person.

Octavia Butler, who I didn't read until years later, is another author I really wanted to hear. I read her books over and over and am still challenged and inspired by the patternists and the theology of her characters. I am thankful to have her work to read, though I always wonder how many stories are left untold.

And now, E. Lynn.

So my thought to share is this - when you have a favorite author, a writer you like, someone whose work is touching lives and adding something beautiful, challenging and important to the culture, go and hear them. Make the effort. Drive, listen, buy the book.

I have bought books I already own - or read years before just because I was so happy to hear a beloved writer speak.

And if you go to many book events you know that many are not well attended. Your presence matters. Your questions matter. And what you hear will matter to you.

So I am thankful to have heard so many people read or to have simply met these authors:
Tina McElroy Ansa
Blanche Richardson
Pearl Cleage
Valerie Wilson Wesley
Tayari Jones
Sonia Sanchez
Nikki Giovanni
Amiri Baraka
Joshilyn Jackson
Shay Youngblood
Edwidge Danticat
Maya Angelou

Quick is all I've got, so here goes:

Did you know that they're selling bestsellers at Blockbuster? I really don't get that. But then again, I couldn't find a movie I wanted to see in the whole store tonight.

Pearl Cleage's daughter set up a fan page for her (Pearl, that is). That made me really happy - especially when posts began to show up from "pearl says." She's working on a new book of nonfiction. She's just getting started, but that book is on my must have list. Her work helped keep my life on track - and gave me strength and solace when I really needed it. With Mad at Miles and I Dream a World (which is not by Pearl) I feel like l can do anything.

I am too tired to go around doing links now, so this is just a rambling missive.

Mysteries - I need a good thriller to read this week, but I'm picky. I want diverse primary characters, preferably a woman at the helm, some social issues, and not a cozy. (My cozy phase is a few years back). Any recommendations?