Returning to the world and some reviews

Well, I've been gone too long again. But this blog is not forgotten - well by me anyway. Hopefully not by readers either.

The good news is that I've been writing more lately. Working on a book proposal and a play and I've been to a workship this month. So I feel like I'm moving forward.

I saw today that there's a new biography - though somewhat imagined - about Harriet Tubman. This one, Harriet Tubman: Imagining a Life, by Beverly Lowry, is reviewed in the NYTimes today. I think it's interesting that there have been a few Tubman biographies in the last decade. I really enjoyed the one by Catherine Clinton. Unfortunately, since I've read one and am not doing research on Tubman, it makes this new one less attractive. I wonder how publishers cope with that and how Lowry was able to secure a contract for this work.

[Warning - I notice that I'm beginning to be like my mother in this way - I change subjects mid-conversation to totally different things. In my head there's a series of twists and turns that got me there - but of course the listener/reader, does not follow. I could have written a transition instead of the above, but I don't have it in my head today.]

Terry McMillan has a wonderful essay in the Washington Post that is a memoir of a summer of change for her (and pain and sadness and color). This line:

This is when I began to dye.

Seems so perfect to me - read it, you'll see. The essay is called "Excitement in Bed." Tantalizing, isn't it?

There's even an email address for her at the end - which I thought was bold. I'm sure she'll be flooded with messages.

Also in the Post today, a feature on Michael Baisden's radio show, Love, Lust and Lies. I've listened to it a few times and found it oddly adult for the middle of the afternoon - but maybe I'm just a prude. I do like it when he talks about issues and the fact that he calls his audience family really works. And, to be honest, I live a life that's pretty separate from some of the main centers of traditional African American life. In other words, I don't hear "us" talking in most of my encounters during the week, so it's kind of a window for me. Sad, but true.

And, on that topic, I am making a better effort to find children's books featuring characters of African descent. I had been rather lackadaisical about that, though our childrens' library at home is robust. So we came home with a stack of books today. Thank the universe that our local library puts a good sampling on display, as with the two little ones, my rounds in the children's section consists of grabbing what I can while being pulled into our reading castle.

I am looking for the Gullah stories that were published and are, I think, connected to the defunct children's series, Gullah, Gullah Island. Surprisingly, only one is in our catalog here. I think the books are out of print, so I'll likely be buying used copies at Amazon. But I'd love to find them at a Black retailer, so I'll check Cush City too. If you have a recommendation for sources, let me know.

A writer on writing and images of us

Mat Johnson posted a really interesting quote from Terry McMillan about writing.

Here's part of it:

“I just think there are some people who try too hard. They just think every sentence has to be perfect. I’m the sort of writer who thinks your first draft is your most honest."

Good to know she isn't trying too hard.

In other, non-book, but very interesting and disheartening news. The New York Times story last week about infant mortality rates rising again in some states among African American women had me angry, sad and amazed. And I almost didn't read it because of that first picture. I just felt like the picture fed into those old, though likely still held, stereotypes about Black women and their children. And it really hit me how much those images impact how I try to control the way my own children look - i.e., the t-shirt and diaper, no pants look.

Anyway, I have been deeper in my bubble than usual the past few years and it just amazed me that we're still talking about access to prenatal care. It's one thing if mothers choose not to go to the doctor, but having some program available to them should have been solved years ago. And in some cases it seems like it was, but our government has decided to take away the solution.

This feels like somebody's book project - a look at pregnancy, birth and infant health today among poor women and minority women. Or a book that, through women's stories, shows the disparities among mothers and babies - things that we should be able to level out.

Instead of so much coverage of the "mommy wars" and the "opt-out" revolution and "balance," what if more of us opted in to making the same basic health care and support systems available to all pregnant women and mothers, regardless of marital status, geography, race or wealth?

Okay- I'm done ranting for now.

Narrowing our options

Like most of you (I presume) I've been watching the book review campaign over at the National Book Critics Circle blog. And I'm sad that I can't be in Atlanta for the protest tomorrow.

I have been thinking about the demise of newspapers in general and how I'm part of the problem. There was a time I wouldn't miss a Sunday paper. But I haven't bought a Sunday paper regularly in years. If it isn't online, I don't read it. So the book section in my own city's paper (if it's still published as a section - really just two pages) is a non-issue for me.

I usually get reviews from the bigger newspapers - LATimes, Washington Post and the NYTimes. Occasionally I read online reviews, but more often I find a recommendation for an author on a web site or blog and follow through on that.

Over the years, particularly in the past two cities I've lived in, I've sometimes enjoyed the book section, but on most weekends, the editor is not including reviews of books that I'm looking for. Or the review is done in a round-up, which isn't very helpful at all.

So I take my chances with blogs, the library and the book jacket.

If you are not able to make it to the protest tomorrow, spend some time thinking about all the places where you read reviews. If it's important to you - online, in print or broadcast, I'd suggest you let that outlet/individual know, before they take away the reviews.

And if you have some thoughts on this, let me know. I'd be interested in publishing a few here.

Here are few links about the controversy.

http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/
NYTimes article today
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/ (lots of posts on the book review issues)

Racial cleansing and other notable notes

Although we talk about ethnic cleansing these days, Americans are usually referring to things happening elsewhere in the world. Most people don't know about the racial cleansings that happened in the U.S.

A new book, Buried in the Bitter Waters, by Elliot Jaspin, covers 12 of those racial cleansings. The WashPost reviewer didn't give it a good review, but I'm still interested in the book. Particularly to see if it mentions the racial cleansing in Ocoee, Florida, which I've written about for the stage. Here's a link to the newspaper series that eventually led to the book.

I'm glad that the reviewer mentioned an earlier book Sundown Towns, which I hadn't heard of.

Mockingbird tops Brit List
Apparently British librarians are high on Harper Lee. They've ranked To Kill a Mockingbird as the number one book that adults must read before dying. Here's an interesting story about the endurance of that novel as assigned school reading. I think it's interesting that the novel is one of the key images of the U.S. in the British imagination, even though it's quite dated.

I remember a classmate, a Black classmate, who was offended by the racial slurs in the novel. I defended it, saying that that's just realism and fit the times. I am glad that we are also reading books by Black authors in schools now - or I assume students are. It'll be a few years before I have to deal with those reading lists again.

Mother, artist/activist, friend? Apparently not

It must be exhilarating and exasperating to be Alice Walker's daughter. But I didn't really think about that much until today, when reading this story in the NYT about Rebecca Walker. To recap - she's partnered with a man, she has a two-year-old and lives in Maui (on Maui).

And she's estranged from her mother.

And she is being really honest. And, I think, rude and insensitive. Here's the quote I'm talking about:

The most incendiary notion in "Baby Love" may be that, for Ms. Walker,
being a stepparent or adoptive parent involves a lesser kind of love than the
love for a biological child.

In an interview, Ms. Walker boiled the
difference down to knowing for certain that she would die for her biological
child, but feeling "not sure I would do that for my nonbiological child."

The article refers to her previous, female partner (but does not name her, even though she's famous and it's well known that they were together) and the woman's son. Who Rebecca helped raise during the years they were together. I was really taken aback that she would a) think like that b) express it and c) put it out there for all the world to see, even this teenager.

I was really interested in reading her book and may still get around to it. But this really made me pause.

New writers to visit
I saw this blog today by three mystery writers - it's called Crime Sistahs.

Those sisters pointed me to a survey on racism and publishing at Karen Scott's web site.

A new publisher is in the mix

Tina McElroy Ansa announced Friday that she is starting a publishing company, DownSouth Press.

The full release is on her web site: www.downsouthpress.com

She had this to say in a GalleyCat item -

"I am not a self-publisher. We are a small press."

I've had this idea for founding this independent small press for a
number of years," Ansa continues. "It is in reaction not only to my own
experience in mainstream publishing (I've been published by three of the large
publishing houses), but also what I know other authors of color have run up
against—many writers of quality serious and contemporary fiction are being
passed over and being told that there is no longer a market for their
work." In her speech last week, Ansa described her plan to operate as "the kind
of involved, smart publisher I dreamed of and the type that every serious writer
deserves for his or her work." After publishing her own novel, "each of our
lists will feature a new book by a well-known, established author and at
least one debut work by a new voice in American literature... We plan to publish
the books that will be classics in years to come."

Ansa also directs writers retreats - I've been to two of them - and the next one is April 28 - 29 in Atlanta at Spelman College.

Details on the retreat are available at www.tinamcelroyansa.com.

Tayari Jones, Hilda Hutcherson, Angela Bassett

Tayari Jones will be reading at two events in Atlanta this week. One is tonight, so it's too late for that - the other is on Saturday. Instead of sinking into a depression because I won't be there, I thought I'd spread the word.

From her site:

I'm headed to Atlanta tomorrow for the AWP
conference. There are going to be quite a few exciting literary events around town, so don't miss out. I'll be at the Margaret Mitchell house on Wednesday night at 7pm. (Get there at 6pm to score snacks.) I'm sharing the stage with Lee Smith (whom I love.) There's a cover charge for that event-- just FYI. On Saturday night,8:30pm, Grand Ballroom, 2nd Floor: I'll be at the Hilton downton giving a headline reading at the AWP Conference. This one is free and open to the public. If you're around, I hope you can make it. I'm reading from my new novel-in-progress. Friendly faces are very very welcome. (Don't make me beg, okay?)

An sex and books party
I went to an event with Dr. Hilda Hutcherson over the weekend. (It was at a private home so I won't disclose more than that). It was a great setup - the all-female crowd could post questions in writing and Dr. Hutcherson pulled them out of a box for answers. Eventually the group loosened up a bit (in a good way!) and the questions were flowing without the anonymous box. She is the author of Pleasure and What Your Mother Never Told You About Sex. She has been on Oprah and is the sex columnist for Essence.

A celeb book worth the pages?
Two things - I was skeptical about the Angela Bassett/Courtney Vance book, Friends: A Love Story. I just worry about the merits of a two celebrity + one writer book. Just because people look good on screen and sound great, doesn't not make them writers.
But I'm predisposed to like Angela Bassett - she is one of my favorite actresses. So I was pleased to see a report-out on galley cat about a recent event with Bassett and Vance. Here's how good they were in person talking about their love story, according to gc:

(They really should flesh it out to about 90 minutes and take it on the
road; it's that good.)

The other thing is that I was just excited to see a post, bad pic and all, about a book by African Americans on a non-ethnic book blog. It's rare, at least when I'm reading those blogs.

I'll have to get a copy of that book someday.

What we're reading this week

Remembering Black/Negro/Colored School Teachers
I think I'm going to have to read A Class of Their Own: Black Teachers in The Segregated South, by Adam Fairclough. I'm not old enough to have attended segregated schools, but my parents did and a few of their teachers were still around during my childhood. And I really could feel the respect that Black teachers and the profession had then in our community. Here are a couple of quotes from the WashPost review that caught my attention:

In 1935, Ambrose Caliver, the highest-ranking black employee in the U.S.
Office of Education, proclaimed, "In the hands of the Negro teacher rests the
destiny of the race."

Fairclough makes clear that the nostalgia of many African Americans since
the 1960s for the Good Old Days of all-black schools is rose-colored. Only
through desegregation could black children hope to attend decently funded public
schools in the South.

Looking for good news

I really hadn't intended to post tonight, just quickly add a couple of links and catch up on sleep.

Then I noticed that Bebe Moore Campbell's web page was still listed on the blog. I took it down, but it really made me sad again. I went to her page and saw that information about the services in December was still there. Just not something I think about doing - removing a young author from my list. There are two of her books that I haven't read, though. So I do look forward to reading them and remembering her.

And, in Dallas, Black Images Book Bazaar closed on Dec. 30. I bought books from Emma Rogers when I was at NABJ in 2003. It seems we will lose all of the black bookstores. Here's a column that ran in the Dallas Morning News about the closing, by a local minister.

The main black bookstore in our city closed a couple of years ago, but I'm going to ask around to find out if anybody has a little shop somewhere - and go get some books. If it's not too late.

Mom lit, anyone?

There's an article up at the nyt on the latest trend (meaning it's probably already over), mom lit. Basically, chick lit authors and readers are now having babies. I think this mania for labelling books chick lit has gone too far. I've read a couple of "chick lit"-y titles and been put off by others because they seemed to be chick lit.

The mom-centricity of some parts of our culture seem to be almost purely market-driven and I think that's the case here. But as a mom, I am interested in some of those stories that have some mothering angle. But I'm also interested in fast-paced murder mysteries and thrillers, though I hope to have nothing in common with those protagonists anytime soon.

But with this mom lit trend, I'm thinking again about how that affects or excludes black authors and readers. For instance I really enjoyed Jennifer Weiner's Little Earthquakes (she's quoted in the nyt article and has commented on it in her blog), both because I recognized many of the challenges the mothers faced and because it seemed more realistic to me since it wasn't an all-white cast of characters. (Yes, the black mother is married to a professional athlete - which I could make a case for as a stereotypical way to insert a black mother. But she wasn't the maid, or the personal assistant, or a recipient of the white character's charity). I wonder if there are black authors whose books would easily fit within the mom lit category but aren't being placed there and who may be missing readers because they've been lumped into a racial niche.

Can you think of any black authors who have written mom lit (or have something coming out?) Let me know, I'd like to check them out.

Another thing the article touches on is the over-the-top wealth of some of the characters in these novels. Yet I think it is entirely possible to have an engaging novel about women/people/mothers who are not obscenely wealthy. It might even be a. better. book.

Jump at the Sun
I meant to comment on Kim McLarin's book below - but, I got a little distracted. Anyway, I recommend it. It's interesting that I was reading it around the time that Bebe Moore Campbell passed away. McLarin's novels have more depth than much of what is pushed onto the African American shelves. Jump at the Sun is no exception. I was impressed with the way she weaved one mother's story as really a part of her family's maternal history and made all the women sympathetic to some degree (for awhile anyway). I am reading a lot of really light fiction now and McLarin's novel is not light - it pushed me to think and gave me characters too complex for me to easily dismiss or embrace. It also left things kind of unsettled and it was good to read something that was more realistic, with a story that isn't all tied up at the end.

A reading Dec. 22 in Baltimore:
We have reached the last stop on the 2006 tour of Growing Up Girl: An Anthology of Voices from Marginalized Spaces.Red Emma's Books will host the contributors on Friday, December 22, 2006 at 6:30pm. If you haven't had a chance to attend a reading this is a great way to end the year (and pick up some last minute autographed Christmas presents). Spread the word! Also keep an eye out for the new 2007 tour schedule in a couple weeks.Red Emma's Books Reading and Book SigningFriday, December 22, 2006800 St. Paul Street Baltimore, MD6:30pm Michellehttp://www.thepoetryfix.org/A national resource for poets/writersand the folks who love us!

I just missed the Growing Up Girl event at Charis in Atlanta. Hopefully some of the authors will make a swing near me in 2007.

Review surfing:
SF Chronicle on Amiri Baraka's short story collection, Tales of the Out & the Gone.

Do cookies and writers belong together?

This is going to be a (hopefully coherent) hodge-podge of a post. Due to the lateness of the hour and all the random things I've run across at times when I haven't been able to post.

Kitty Kelley's newest bio-subject is:
Oprah.
That's right, Oprah. I would love to read a good biography of Oprah, though I feel she has told so much of her own story, that it'd make more sense for her to do an autobiography (and that would probably sell more copies). It will be interesting how it comes out - if it comes out. Got that nugget from galleycat. Here's the article.

Also from galleycat - a promotional idea
Cookies, books and authors. Sounds like a sweet deal, though having such an event at a feminist bookstore seems both subversive and stereotypical. I'll have to think on that for awhile. But I do love baked goods, so I'd be willing to go for the concept. Perhaps Tayari Jones could do it with red velvet cake.

Books in stores - and a contest
Take a picture of Marilynn Griffith's latest book, If the Shoe Fits, on your local bookstore's shelves and you may win a copy. Or you could just buy it after you take the pic, right?
BTW, there's a cookie recipe on MG's site. So she could certainly do the cookie/signing idea.

Are you an Edward P. Jones scholar?
Then this is for you:
Deadline extended for a proposed panel on Edward P. Jones at the eighteenth annual conference ofthe American Literature Association to be held in Boston, May 24-27, 2007.Papers that focus on his short fiction are particularly encouraged, though papers on his novel, TheKnown World, will be considered. All approaches are welcome.Please email 200 word abstracts and a CV no later than January 10, 2007 to Gregory Miller,University of California at Davis (glmiller@ucdavis.edu)
Pulled from kalamu's cyberdrummers listserv for and about writers of African descent. Email kalamu@aol.com to be added.

Review surfing
WashPost review of There Goes the Neighborhood: Racial, Ethnic, and Class Tensions in Four Chicago Neighborhoods and Their Meaning for America By William Julius Wilson and Richard P. Taub

WSJ, new-2-me blogs, McLarin's novel

I decided today to get deeper into making this a viable blog. Naturally that sent me on a hunt for links and interesting things to share. Here's what I've found so far (and probably all for tonight!)

New-2-me blogs:
Mat Johnson, found via a link on Nichelle Tramble's blog. (For the record, I vote that Nichelle keep blogging.) Mat has some interesting posts about commercial fiction, self-publishing and the state of the black literati - and yes his site is called Niggerati. Talk amongst yourselves about that one - perhaps there's a Michael Richards joke in there somewhere. I haven't read all of Mat's posts, but found the one I did read (#3) to be provocative. Are the self-published, so-called ghetto lit authors working on the craft? Does it matter if they still sell?
And speaking of selling, I have a 99% unread copy of B-More Careful available really cheap. I bought it to check out the craze and just could not even force myself to read it. So if the author is working on the craft, I'll never see the work, since I will not risk the money again.

Anyway, Mat's work looks cool, and I'm particularly interested in the Walter White-inspired graphic novel coming out next year. I'll have to get some of his work - talk in comments about it if you're familiar with his writing.

Also stumbled into Felicia Pride's blog and she had a post about a WSJ article about black authors. I'm not a suscriber, so I'll have to go to the hard copy tomorrow. Here's what's available on their site as a preview for non-subscribers:

Why Book Industry Sees the World Split Still by Race
By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg
Word Count: 1,851 Companies Featured in This Article: CBS, Borders Group, Wal-Mart Stores, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Pearson
Brandon Massey's readers tell him they know just where to find his horror novels -- in the African-American section of bookstores. He's torn about whether or not this is a good thing.
"You face a double-edged sword," says Mr. Massey, 33 years old. "I'm black and I'm published by a black imprint, so I'm automatically slotted in African-American fiction." That helps black readers to find his books easily and has underpinned his career. At the same time, he says, the placement "limits my sales."
Should fiction written by black authors be shelved in African-American departments, a move that often helps ....

And no, Felicia, you're not the only one:

Am I the only one that hadn't heard about Angela Bassett and her husband's
Courtney Vance's new book entitled, Friends: A Love Story? It's being published
by Harlequin/Kimani Press this January

Bebe Moore Campbell

When we made it home from our T-giving trip, I was shocked to see that Bebe Moore Campbell had died. I saw it on Tayari Jones' site - then googled it to see what happened. I keep being surprised with younger deaths - though I wouldn't have thought of 56 as youthful 15 years ago. It seems very young now.
So, if you haven't already started, go and re-read some of Bebe's books. Here are a few of the obituary stories on her. She made a mark on us and her last book, 72 Hour Hold, really pushes the entire society to have a real dialogue on mental illness/disease.

LATimes: "Bebe was a passionate voice for Los Angeles," novelist Paula L. Woods said Monday. "She wrote about the historical and social forces that make us rub against each other and spark. Her heart was in the African American community."There will be a gap without her. Already, you feel that absence."

WashPost: "African Americans know about racism," Campbell said, "but I don't think we really know the causes. I decided it's first of all a family problem."

NYTimes: Along with writers like Terry McMillan, Ms. Campbell was part of the first wave of black novelists who made the lives of upwardly mobile black people a routine subject for popular fiction. Straddling the divide between literary and mass-market novels, Ms. Campbell’s work explored not only the turbulent dance between blacks and whites but also the equally fraught relationship between men and women.

Blacks, books and newspapers

The NYTimes has a story on Black Issues Book Review's new venture, Blacks&Books - a supplement for Black newspapers. I love the idea - and hope it eventually gets to my, not-so-urban market.

A novel in 30 days
Are you crazy, ambitious or dedicated enough to pound out 50,000 words in 30 days? Then you're probably already participating in National Novel Writing Month. If you're not and want to learn about it (and some strategies for your own writing) read this.

Yeah - still here and reading

What I'm reading...
I am back in a heavy reading mode and am gathering more books than I can possibly read by the end of the month. But I intend to make a valiant effort.

Found the latest Kim McLarin novel, Jump at the Sun, at the library. Loved her two first novels, so I'm excited about the premise of this one - a mother's struggle with her new life as a stay-at-home mom. I have read a few titles that do the mommy tales (the modern version) but don't know of that many new novels by Black women that are doing that. I realize I'm probably just missing them - so I'm open to suggestions in comments.

The NYTimes has a story about the surprise bestselling book by Sen. Barack Obama. Of course there's still all the talk about and his coy avoidance of the question of 2008, the White House and Hilary. Here's a bit from the NYTimes books story.

Writing in The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani called Mr. Obama, 45, “that rare politician who can actually write.” In The Washington Post, Michael Kazin praised Mr. Obama’s “knack for mixing stirring rhetoric about good and evil with practical policy ideas.”

Sunday Books Roundup

Here's what I've found of interest today in the books sections:

A nice LA Times feature story on writers ("ethnic" writers) who are including social history and commentary in their mystery novels. Paula L. Woods (author of the Charlotte Justice novels, including Strange Bedfellows) and Walter Mosley are quoted. Also a reference to Gary Phillips and his novel, The Jook.
Also in the LA Times, a review of Forty Million Dollar Slaves The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete, by William C. Rhoden. Rhoden is a sportswriter for the NYTimes who played football for Morgan State University in the late 1960s. This will be a big publishing year for Rhoden - he also has this title, Third and a Mile : From Fritz Pollard to Michael Vick - An Oral History of the Trials, Tears and Triumphs of the Black Quarterback, coming out in the fall.

The WaPost reviewed Andrea Smith's The Sisterhood of Blackberry Corner a few weeks ago. It's about a group of African American church ladies who begin breaking the law to save babies. The novel is set in South Carolina in the 1950s.

"Beloved" Chosen as Best American Fiction

I was really surprised and pleased to read today that 100 writers and critics chose Toni Morrison's Beloved as the best work of American fiction published in 25 years. Really, they did. Read about it in the NYTimes. Here's the list of judges.

There is also an essay by A. O. Scott about the process and it includes this tidbit about the previous effort by the NYTimes to choose a best work of fiction:

The last time this kind of survey was conducted, in 1965 (under the
auspices of Book Week, the literary supplement of the soon-to-be-defunct New
York Herald Tribune), the winner was Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man," which was declared "the most memorable" work of American fiction published since the end of World War II, and the most likely to endure.

I thought that was pretty amazing, but then again, not too surprising. Race and class are there at the beginning of the idea of America as a nation, so novels that grapple with both and the many issues spawned by color and class have the potential to be our great works.

One Love, in Memoriam
Today is the 25th anniversary of Bob Marley's death. I read a story earlier this week on the ABC news site about the upcoming anniversary. I thought it was really odd that "top-selling Hasidic reggae star Matisyahu" was such a big part of the story. Not necessarily bad, it just seemed like he was more of a focal point than necessary. I would have liked to have heard more thoughts from across the musical spectrum.

I really liked NPR's tribute story, which included an interview with Christopher John Farley, who has a new book, Before the Legend:The Rise of Bob Marley, that's a history of Marley before reggae and Rastafari. There's an excerpt from the book at the NPR site.

One thing I learned from the story is that there are multiple versions of "One Love." There are audio clips on NPR's site as well as a photo gallery.

Checking for reviews and such

Just a few quick hits:

Miami Herald review of Walter Mosley's Fortunate Son.

An interesting story on "chica" lit from The Arizona Republic. Here's an interesting quote from Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez:

"Labels can be tools of empowerment when used properly, and they can be
tools of marginalization when used incorrectly," Valdes-Rodriguez says. "They
can be both at once. And I know that if I didn't have a Spanish name, I would be
selling a lot more books than I am . . . because I get notes from people saying,
'I'm not Latina, but I read your book anyway.' I know Jennifer Weiner isn't
getting notes saying, 'I'm not Jewish, but I read your book anyway,' for In Her
Shoes or Good in Bed, and our books are very similar. . . .
"My worry is
that bookstores are going to start to have the Latina section. And at that
point, my career dies."

There's another comparison to the African American literary landscape before and after Terry McMillan. (The comparison in the above quote is of course unspoken, but if you've been in any major bookstore, you've seen "our" section). Of course the so-called urban lit fad is driving us further in that direction of marginalization and stereotypes.

The Palm Beach Post has an editor who is blogging about Black literature. I don't know why that shocked me - it just seemed really specific for a metro daily in a city that I don't think of as black. Shocking, but cool. Check out Rhonda Swan, the Literary Diva.

E. Lynn Harris has a new novel out. Here's a feature story about him from the Washington Blade in which he declines to call himself an activist and talks about upcoming work. The new novel is I Say a Little Prayer. Gay men and the black church. Man, E. Lynn really set us to talking.

A new press, pimps and more

Just saw an announcement about Growing Up Girl: An Anthology of Voices from Marginalized Spaces, edited by Michelle Sewelle. She is publishing it under her press, Girlchild Press, this month. Check it out here: http://www.girlchildpress.com/.

Calls for Writing
Seal Press is publishing an anthology about women travelling solo. Deadline is May 15, 2006. Get the details here: http://www.sealpress.com/submissions/index.html

Another opportunity is the upcoming anthology, Cornrows, Double-Dutch, & Black Girl Blues:Words and Images of Black Girlhood in America Photos by Delphine Fawundu-Buford, Edited by Ibi Aanu Zoboi.

The editor seeks submissions that speak to the experience of the black girl aged 7 through 12 in America. Currently, this is a closed invitation to women who either work closely with young black girls or writers who can contribute an intriguing memoir. Once we have secured a publisher, an open call will be sent out to young girls across the country to submit short poems.

Deadline is April 15, 2006. The call is much longer than what I've posted here. To submit or get more details, email the editor at: BlackGirlBlues@gmail.com.

Who's really struggling?
The Oscar pimp song controversy isn't over. Jill Nelson has a commentary about the song and hip hop culture in general at Nia Online. I'm really tired of the glorification of pimping - so hats off to Jill for being grown up (as always) about it.

Quick hits - reviews, etc.

Lots of stuff is happening with my other projects, so this will be quick. Do keep sending me links and notes, though and I'll post.

Nice story on John Hope Franklin in the Raleigh News and Observer.
Janet McDonald has an essay about her perspective on the French riots at Newsday. She's the author of Project Girl.
Nalo Hopkinson relates two pieces of good news on her blog. One - Nnedimma Okorafor-Mbachu won a Magical Realism Short Story Contest. Her novel is Zahrah the Windseeker. And the Dark Matter Series, edited by Sheree R. Thomas, won the World Fantasy Award.

A few reviews and such

Usually I avoid books written by celebrities. I'm just skeptical that they will be anything more than just a publicity tool. So I was a little wary of Denise Nicholas' Freshwater Road. It sounded like a good idea, but would it be well executed? Well the reviews look good, so I'm going to read it. Plus I was a big fan of In the Heat of the Night, so it's a little fan thing too. Here's what's being written about the book:
Washington Post
A short Q&A in the Detroit Free Press

Apparently I started this and never published it. Aagh.

Call me a slacker - but check these links

Yep. I'm a slacker. But I've been productive on other fronts, so I'm happy about that. Here's some reading about authors, books, other.


Octavia Butler interview in The Minnesota Daily

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, and a little race talk:

Whitman even once wrote in a magazine article that blacks were no more capable than baboons, though he crossed off that reference before the article was printed, Gewirtz added.

But all that has failed to put a damper on Whitman's growing popularity, and today he is widely accepted even by African American authors.

Hmm. I'd like to hear what African American authors say about Whitman's work and legacy. I'll have to go revisit some of his poetry, which I haven't read since high school, I think. Comments, anyone?

A couple of reviews of Cinnamon Kiss, the new Easy Rawlins novel from Walter Mosley:
Detroit Free Press
Sun Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale)

And a conversation between Walter Mosley and Ed Gordon on NPR. There's a new movie in the works for Easy!

Writers Raising Money

Linda Dominique Grosvenor has set up a a donation drive on her site to benefit child victims of Hurricane Katrina. Another way to give during the crisis.

Authors Helping Katrina Victims, Other Notes

Obviously all eyes are turned toward Katrina, the relief efforts and the criticism of said efforts. It's unbelievable that we are watching refugees and this type of rescue effort in the U.S. Usually we're sending help somewhere else. And so many of us needing the help. There are lots of Black folks writing about what's going on and I'll link to some of the commentary here.

Also want to talk about relief efforts by authors. A few weeks ago a bunch of authors set up auctions to benefit one of their own who lost everything in a fire. A similar effort, www.romaid.net, has sprung up to benefit Larissa Ione, a romance writer from Mississippi.

So knowing that New Orleans has a high percentage of African Americans and is a place where the African culture has had such a major influence, I'm curious about how Black writers are faring after the disaster and about efforts by other writers to reach out in some way. Send an email about any relief efforts you're involved in or have heard about. Also, who are the novelists who live in New Orleans and other affected areas? Seems like it would be a nice gesture to go out and buy their books right about now, in addition to making donations to help all kinds of people affected by the tragedy.

Tayari Jones has set up a little program of her own. If you donate to the relief fund, she will send you a signed copy of one of her books. Go to her site to get details on how to do this.

Anybody else?

Other notes
Lots of recent author interviews on Ed Gordon's NPR show, including:
Christopher John Farley talking about Kingston by Starlight
John Ridley on Barbershop, the TV show
A wonderful piece by Roy Hurst on Helen Oyeyemi (The Icarus Girl)
Pearl Cleage giving a tour of Spelman College

Check out Poets & Writers' September Issue. There's an amazing photograph of James Baldwin on the cover.

Toni Morrison spoke at the University of Miami (Florida) this week. Read about it here.

Marilynn Griffith (whose novel Made of Honor is due first of the year), posted today about a deal for Claudia Burney. Here's the text from Marilynn's blog:

One of my dear friends and favorite bloggers, Claudia Burney, has just signed a three-book contract with the new NavPress fiction line! The series, The Bell Brown Mysteries, is one of the best I've seen in quite some time and I wish you all could read it right now. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until next summer. The first book is A FLING AND A PRAYER, the second is titled ALL THAT'S JAZZ, after Jazz Brown, the hunky police detective love interest and the third title is BETWEEN ROCKY AND A HARD PLACE, after Bell's cool and cute Emergent pastor who loves Jesus...and Bell.

For any of you who know Claudia as the Ragamuffin Diva, you know how gifted a writer she is. If you don't know, you soon will find out...

Yeah. It's like that. :)

Catching Up

Okay - I've been missing in action, but with good reason. I was a the National Association of Black Journalists 30th anniversary conference. Sans laptop, so no blogging. But it was a pretty good conference. It seemed a little lighter on sessions than past gatherings, but the sessions that did happen were good. And lots of authors and book talk there. Seems a lot of journalists want to writer in longer form.

And yes, the National Book Club Conference was going on at the same time. No, I didn't go visit over there - though it would seem like the right place for the BBB Editor. Just didn't have the registration cash, or extra time. I hear really good things about the turnout and the vibe. Check out "Tayari Jones' reports from the conference.

Here are a few links worth checking out:
A NYTimes story about Jill Nelson and her new book, Finding Martha's Vineyard: African Americans at Home on an Island,. There's also an audio slideshow.
She's also featured in a story on the Boston Globe web site, which touches on issues of class as well as race and color.

The South Carolina Writers Conference is in October and Kimberla Lawson Roby is the keynote speaker.

Also in the NYTimes - a review of Israel on the Appomattox : A Southern Experiment in Black Freedom From the 1790s Through the Civil War, by Melvin Patrick Ely and The First Emancipator: The Forgotten Story of Robert Carter, the Founding Father Who Freed His Slaves, by Andrew Levy, two biographies of American slaveholders who freed their slaves.

The Berry College Southern Women Writers Conference will be September 22 - 24, 2005. Tina McElroy Ansa and Trudier Harris are among the scheduled speakers.

I know that's been a real mixed up bag of links - but I'm trying to catch up. Thanks for the emails - I'll be updating my links rail soon.

E-Drummers, Authors Elsewhere, Notes

Welcome to all the visitors who saw the posting on Kalamu's listserv - and a big thank you to Kalamu for that ever bountiful list.

In Authors Elsewhere
Lisa Teasley has an essay in this month's
Real Simple about, as she puts it, "growing up with dark skin in a eurocentric culture that doesn't revere blackness as beautiful." So check it out. Lisa is the author of Dive and Glow in the Dark.

Authors on the Web
I posted earlier about the lack of a site for Terry McMillan. Well the site is up (or back?) and it's good. I particularly like the family photo animation.

I'll be back later this week with more - got to get some rest tonight. Keep sending those links!

Reviews, Authors Elsewhere, Whatnots

Authors writing elsewhere

Danyel Smith has a nice essay in the current Essence (with Terrance Howard on the cover) about falling for her new husband. That's cool for two reasons - the fact that Essence is devoting some pages to Black marriage and it's an opportunity to congratulate Danyel on finding wedded bliss. Check out her new novel, Bliss, as well. She's doing a few readings these days.

John Fountain had a piece on why he stopped going to church in the Washington Post last week. He raises good questions about the materialism of church leadership and the lack of energy, funds and programs directed toward the very real problems in the community. Thanks to Tayari Jones for the link. John is the author of True Vine: A Young Black Man's Journey of Faith, Hope and Clarity.

Shelf Segregation
Here's an essay in The Book Standard that is a response to an essay by David Leavitt in the NYTimes about the closing of a gay bookstore in NY and the status of gay fiction. The Book Standard piece, by Johnny Temple, makes the comparison of the marginalization of gay fiction in general stores with similar treatment of titles by Black authors. Most of this will be familiar to lovers of Black books who can't find certain authors in big stores or are frustrated when their own titles are limited to the "race shelf." What I found most interesting is that, except for a mention of James Baldwin, there was no mention in either piece of the recent spate of Black gay literature. Now where are those books placed? On the Black or the gay shelf? I've noticed in several stores that those few shelves tend to be close together, if not adjacent. Another example of double invisibility.

Terry Update
The hits keeping coming. Here are reviews and stories about Terry McMillan and her new novel, The Interruption of Everything.
NY Daily News story
Seattle Times review
USA Today review
Philadelphia Inquirer review
Chicago Sun-Times review

Book Trailers?
What if you could see a trailer for a book? Yes, a visual interpretation of the written word - as a promotion vehicle. That's what the folks behind VidLit.com have come up with. I went there after reading about VidLits on MJRose's Buzz, Balls & Hype site. Watched the vidlit for her novel, The Halo Effect, then watched the Bertice Berry vidlit for When Love Calls You Better Answer. First of all, MJ Rose is not Black - so don't be confused - BBB is aware of that. Her site is great though with loads of insight on book publishing and marketing. Both vidlits were for novels I probably would not have picked up, but the animated promos piqued my interest in both of them. Something to check out.


Whatnots
Proceeds from a new book, titled 100 Words of Wisdom, will go toward fighting domestic violence. According to the book web site, Dr. Julianne Malveaux and are among the contributors. I love the animated woman on the site - though I must admit when I realized she follows your cursor, I did try to make her cross her eyes!

R. Spot Barber and Books in San Diego has closed due to a rent increase.

The African American Odyssey, a college text, has been revised for high school students. Here's a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the text, the differences between the two versions and the content.

Readings, Poetry, and Reading Lists

Readings
Christopher John Farley has two upcoming readings for Kingston by Starlight - check him out if you can.

July 19, 7 p.m.
McNally Robinson
52 Prince Street
New York, NY 10012
212-274-1160

July 25, 7 p.m.
Pirate Soul Museum
524 Front Street
Key West, FL 33040
305-292-1113

Sapphire was a master artist in residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts (New Smyrna Beach, FL) this summer and there was a good article about her and the associate artists in the Orlando Sentinel last week. One of the associate artists is Glenis Redmond from N.C. The closing event for the residency - open to the public, is Inside/Out at the ACA tonight. Begins at 7:30 p.m.

Beware the Reading List
The president at Prairie View A&M is handing out a list of 19 must-read works by Black authors so that students, regardless of race, know the Black experience. That is the lead-in in a Houston Chronicle story about concerns that the Black university is losing it's historic and Black identity. That caught my eye because I also read this story in the St. Pete Times earlier this month about a teacher who is accused of forcing students to read Black authors.

I remember other stories about non-Black teachers doing things that might be read as culturally sensitive and progressive or racially inappropriate, depending on your viewpoint. And a story about African American parents who had a problem with their child having to read a novel about a lynching in class. They didn't want him to be embarrassed in his predominantly white classroom. This kind of attitude makes my head spin - and not in a good way. I can't believe that parents are worried their child will be embarrassed by his history and would actually ask to have a book pulled. Or that they would accuse a teacher of bias for introducing titles by Black authors. But of course, I don't know the whole story in either instance.

Obituary
Professor and poet Lorenzo Thomas of Texas has passed away. Here's the Houston Chronicle obit. Here's a graph from the obit that gives some idea of his influence:

During his years at Queens College, Thomas joined the Umbra Workshop, a collective that met on the Lower East Side and served as a crucible for emerging black poets, among them Ishmael Reed, David Henderson and Calvin Hernton. The workshop was one of the currents that fed the Black Arts Movement of the '60s and '70s, the first major African-American artistic movement after the Harlem Renaissance.

Black Author Summer
The LA Times did a nice piece on Black women authors and the six who have new titles out now (Terry McMillan, Pearl Cleage, Valerie Wilson Wesley, Benild Little, Connie Briscoe and Bebe Moore Campbell). I glad to see they way they give one another props.

Campbell's book, 72 Hold, deals with mental illness and family issues. I thought is was interesting to see on Kyra Davis' (Sex, Murder and a Double Latte) blog, that she is "coming out" about her experience with a family member with bipolar disorder. It's wonderful that they're talking about mental health issues - and hopefully helpful to someone out there.

A Few Quick Things

Much like Tayari Jones, I don't mean to be obsessed with Terry McMillan, but the current back and forth between her and her soon-to-be ex-husband is interesting to watch. And listening to her finally talk about this on the Tavis Smiley show this week was interesting as well. So here are a few more links:


Audio from the Tavis show (also a transcript)
Column by John McCann in Durham (mentions a local book club, too)
Keith Boykin's column in the Southern Voice mentions Plummer (and Luther Vandross and J.L. King) as he writes about images of black gay men

CJF in VF
Christopher John Farley's Kingston by Starlight is mentioned in the August issue of Vanity Fair (with Martha on the cover). The mention isn't online, so you'll have to get your hands on a hard copy to read the Hot Type column.

Festival Alert
The National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta begins this weekend. This is one of my favorite festivals - and I'm sad I won't be there this year. If you can get there, check it out. Among the authors who will be there: Maya Angelou, Guy Johnson, Tony Medina, Nikki Giovanni, jessica care moore-Poole, Valerie Boyd, Malaika Adero and more.

Terry, Bebe and Real Life

First of all, we'll probably make a Monday (or Tuesday for the three day weekends) regular feature out of the Sunday reviews of any authors we're watching. Here's what ran this past weekend in a few papers:

Lots of coverage for Bebe Moore Campbell's 72 Hour Hold(Knopf, June 28, 2005)
Reviews in: Orlando Sentinel | LA Times + related essay, both by Paula L. Woods | Interview with Ed Gordon on NPR

The Icarus Girl, by Helen Oyeyemi
Washington Post BookWorld

Lots of talk about how real life affects fiction in the reviews and interviews around Campbell's new book. There's also a lot of talk about reality and fiction and where they meet as people dissect the Terry McMillan divorce saga. Jimi Izrael has a commentary on Ed Gordon about the "down low" component in her personal drama and Tayari Jones blogs about the dangers of pressuring authors to use their personal lives to promote their fiction.

Seems like there's a line that McMillan crossed that Campbell hasn't. And understandably so. McMillan was telling just her story when she talked about her Jamaican honey. Campbell has been circumspect about naming the loved one who has mental illness, obviously to protect him or her and the rest of their family. And there's a public education aspect to her conversations about the mentally ill - the family connection makes her a credible spokesperson. Still, I don't fault McMillan for being upfront about her relationship and how her groove was the foundation for the novel and movie. She was happy and that's what happy people do - shout about it. It might be painful and embarrassing now, but it was glorious then. I wonder if this would merit as much attention if her soon-to-be ex was simply a player, a hetero player or just triflin or boring or whatever? Would we even care? I don't think so.

Still, it's mighty handy for her to get this much attention right before her next book appears.

Maintenance

If you've been here before, you know this blog has seen many a template. Just trying to find something we like and make a committment. So bear with us on the look and feel, please.

Also realized that in the last incarnation the email address was missing - so give us a shout now that it's conveniently in the corner.

McMillan's Down Low Experience

Down Low Kills Stella's Groove
Terry McMillan's bestselling book and the movie based on it, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, were based on her own experiences with a much younger lover. The movie was a big hit and I'm sure sparked many a fantasy about island rendez-vous. Well, in real life it seems McMillan's lover was on the down low. He has admitted he's gay and is seeking support from her. It's all coming out in the divorce proceedings and the news media. Stories appeared today in the SFChronicle and Chicago Tribune.

With all the recent attention to the "down low," a novel by McMillan on the trials of a woman caught up in the lies would be a big seller. And not a bad way to get even.

Is Waiting to Exhale Chick Lit?
Well, the NYTimes seems to think it is, or at least a precursor to chick lit. Felicia R. Lee's story in the NYT looks at how pioneering authors Terry McMillan, Connie Briscoe and Benilde Little are writing stories about more mature women these days. Interesting to see the three of them put together in this story. Other authors, like Pearl Cleage, are named as well.
Here are their upcoming or recent titles:
Connie Briscoe, Can't Get Enough
Terry McMillan, The Interruption of Everything
Benilde Little, Who Does She Think She Is?


Mississippi Freedom Fiction
Denise Nicholas, the actress from In The Heat of the Night (the TV series, not the movie), has a novel due out in August. The book, Freshwater Road, is mentioned in DeWayne Wickham's column in USA Today and recounts the tale of a young woman working in Mississippi during the 1960s civil rights movement. Interesting timing for her, considering the developments in the murder cases in Mississippi this summer.


80 Year Old Book Club
The Des Moines Register has a feature on an 80-year-old women's book club that started as an all black YWCA group and is now integrated. I've been a participant in only one regular book club, all African American, and have always wondered what it would be like to read with an integrated group - outside of academic settings, that is. It was nice to see that this group has been going strong for so long.

Penguin flap

Stumbled on an old, in web terms at least, story in the Guardian about Penguin's 70th anniversary list of titles. There's a little controversy because the publisher had very few authors of color on the list celebrating the company's history. In particular, James Baldwin and Chinua Achebe are not included.

Part of the Penguin executive's explanation is that because those authors haven't sold very well, they weren't included, or even considered.

Is this corporate snub even worth acknowledging? How much does it matter if Baldwin or Achebe are on this list? In one sense it is probably more true to the impact their writing had for them to be excluded from the list - who wants to be on the man's list, anyway?. And their kind of outsider status helps explain why the sales aren't in the same league as a contemporary, less political novelist. And were authors like Baldwin and Achebe on the list, would their titles get the kind of boost as the other books?

It would have been nice to see if they garnered more sales. I'd love to hear thoughts on this - post away.

Karibu in B'more
Karibu Books is opening a store in Baltimore - and the Sun has a feature on the store and new location.

Snubbing the Queen and other notes

Winning a prize is one thing, but for Caryl Phillips and Mark Haddon, bowing to a queen is quite another and they want no parts of it. Both authors won the Commonwealth Prize and neither accepted the invitation, which comes with the prize, to an audience with the queen. It wasn't just scheduling conflicts, either. Both authors say they don't believe in the monarchy and the problems with the idea of monarchy are similar to those they explore in their work. Thanks to places for writers for the link to the Guardian article about their refusal to meet with the queen. Here's a quote from the article from Phillips:

I'm trying to interrogate British history and mythologies and duplicities, and one of the enduring myths is the royal family, which is white and Christian and 'pure-blooded', and on which the sun never sets.

Phillips won the 2004 Commonwealth prize for his novel, A Distant Shore. Haddon won for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Authors Elsewhere

Bebe Moore Campbell (72 Hour Hold) and Terry McMillan (The Interruption of Everything) are both featured in the July issue of Essence with excerpts from their new novels. Also in the books section of the July issue: former Vibe editor-in-chief Danyel Smith talking about her new novel, Bliss and the following beach read recommendations: Kingston By Starlight by Christopher John Farley, The Icarus Girl, by Helen Oyeyemi and Tropical Fish, by Doreen Baingana.

BBB loves seeing the diaspora represented so well in corporate publication. Perhaps all is not lost with Essence.

By the way, the link above for Danyel Smith actually leads to her blog. We'll be bookmarking that one. Incredibly, BBB couldn't find an official site for Terry McMillan. You'd think she'd have a very good site - or at least something. The url of her name leads to a site that's supposedly a coming attraction. Very odd - I would think she and her publisher would be all over that marketing opportunity.

Tayari Jones has a very good essay up at her site about marketing. She talks about her experiences being promoted as a Southern writer and then, with the current book, The Untelling, as a Black writer.

Merged Publication, An Award, and Whatnots

Lit Pubs Merge
Black Issues Book Review and QBR, the two publications that focus exclusively on the work of Black authors, announced that they will merge. It'll be interesting to see what changes or additions to coverage show up in BIBR, which will be the editorial arm of the company.

A Prize
British writer Diana Evans was named winner of the inaugural Orange Prize for New Writers with her debut novel 26a. See the write up in the Scotsman. The Orange Prize is given by a British group to women fiction writers annually. Read an interview with Evans here.

Literary Ball
Check out the details for the Rawsistaz Affair, an event celebrating the reading group and authors, this fall in Atlanta.

Quick Hits

Well somebody else is thinking about the publishing industry and black folks. Black Issues Book Review and Target Market News have teamed up to produce this site. Doesn't seem like it's being updated very regularly.
Then again, even the BBB has off days.

Speaking of BIBR, the web content from the current issue is now online, including reviews of news novels by Tayari Jones, Pearl Cleage (though her site isn't really updated - odd, that) and Valerie Wilson Wesley.

Butler's Back

On a quick search I found this university newspaper story about an appearance by Octavia Butler and was happy to see that she has a new novel due out this year, Fledgling is the title. But I have yet to find a link to a synopsis on the book - oh well, we'll just have to wait and see.

And here's a Z.Z. Packer review in the NYTimes of Charles Johnson's new collection, Dr. King's Refrigerator and Other Bedtime Stories.

Marriage, publicity and a novel

Maryann Reid, author of Use Me or Lose Me, wants more Black couples with children to get married. So she's holding a contest to give a free wedding and is screening contestants for the September ceremony. Perhaps it's her publisher's contest - that isn't clear from the Salon.com story (you may have to watch an ad). Reid does have a book coming out at the same time and it's titled - Marry Your Baby Mama, just like her contest. Innovative book marketing or just a sad stunt?

Literary R&R

Here's a nice short piece on Monique Greenwood's Akwaaba D.C., a literary themed bed and breakfast inn in the Baltimore Sun. Much as I love mysteries, I think I'll skip the Mosley room. The idea of murder mysteries might keep me up at night - unless Easy is going to pay a visit.

Let's try this again

Okay - so the BBB didn't quite make it past conception back in 2004. Luckily, the good folks at Blogger will let your blog sit for a really long time with no updates. I'm willing to try again - so let's get to it.

Donald Bogle's history of Black Hollywood is getting a lot of press right now - especially with a record number of Black folk nominated for Academy Awards (3 days left!). There's an interview with him on alternet.org and he talked about Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams with Ed Gordon at NPR. His commentary about the struggles of contemporary African American women in Hollywood is interesting. He's right about Angela Bassett - why isn't she a bigger star?

The Seattle Times ran an article on urban lit (aka ghetto lit, hip hop lit) and links the genre to the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement. Donnell Alexander makes some pointed comments about the cultural and financial ups and downs of the publishing industry from his perspective as an author with a book (Ghetto Celebrity) that will find a home on library shelves. Read his San Francisco Chronicle essay. Both links came from the fabulous Negrophile.

Speaking of urban and celebrity, I got the new Savoy this week. I subscribed to the old version and I suppose the list was sold with the mag. Anyway, I've read a couple of short features and flipped through the book. Unfortunately, it seems to have lost some luster. And they need to get serious about editing the copy - if they're trying to reach bourgeouis educated Negroes, it doesn't help to see Zore Neal Hurston [sic] and Santa Clause [sic] plus an almost unreadable tribute to Adam Clayton Powell. Then again the site's web site is still just an "under construction" page, so they've got bigger issues. There's a book review of Brown Sugar 4: Secret Desires. Novelist RM Johnson is on the masthead, so at least there's hope of some review coverage.

Welcome to the BBBlog

Welcome all to a new blog about Black books. What do I mean by "Black" books? Well, any titles by authors of African descent or about people of African descent. I'll primarily keep tabs on major fiction and nonfiction releases as well as those lucky few that catch the media's eye and become trendsetters. You're welcome to comment - only by email at this point, but commenting will be enabled soon. Send links and comments (favorable and snide) to your humble editor.

Here are some places to check out with recent Black book news.
Africana.com started a new feature a few months ago that lists notable releases each month. It's worth checking out with a memoir by Lisa Price, the force behind Carol's Daughter and the much talked about book by J.L. King, the new prince of the "down low."

Africana also reviews King's book, On the Down Low: A Journey Into the Lives of "Straight" Black Men Who Sleep With Men. His book tour, according to his site, begins on May 11, so you'll likely hear lots more from him in the next few weeks. He's schedule to appear in Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago and Hyattsville, Maryland this month. See the Random House site for details.

Tonya Lewis Lee, wife of Spike Lee, will have a novel out this summer. Gotham Diaries from Hyperion is coauthored with Crystal McCrary Anthony and is being pushed social satire about the very richest African Americans.

Random notes

John McWhorter, author of Authentically Black and Losing the Race, makes me uncomfortable. He is one of the black neo-conservatives who challenges the old-guard civil rights establishment and says that many of African America's coping mechanisms and ideas about race and class are self-defeating. I try to read and listen to "the other side" from time to time and am working my way through Authentically Black as a result. McWhorter makes me uncomfortable because what he says a)often comes across as harsh b) or what we might otherwise label as racist and c) because I find myself agreeing with some of his points (definitely not all). Anyway, I read this essay in City Journal recently. Here he writes about how rap retards black success. Since I had my son (even before, really) I've listened to less rap, hip hop and even youth-oriented pop. A part of that is because I'm older and partying and talking trash is not on my agenda. But part of it is that I am over the bitch and 'ho labelling, the cursing in general and the often unhealthy sexual imagery. Now, though, I can't even listen to it because it's going into my son's head too. I won't keep him from listening to popular music, but I definitely want to wait as many years as possible and I will be monitoring the airwaves and CDs and mP3s like a hawk.




Shifting Sisters

HarambeeJournal sent me a note about this book, Shifting, The Double Lives of Black Women in America. It sounds like something I should read. And it makes me want to get serious about starting my luncheon book club. Perhaps I will, if I can find another couple of hours a week and a few friends to buy in.


New reading

I've been very mystery-focused lately, with Paula L. Woods' Charlotte Justice character. I've ready Inner-City Blues and Stormy Weather and both were good. I do think that her stories are a bit less intense than some other mysteries. The main character is under duress, but not in the same, end-of-book fashion as some other sleuths. Still, I like her tone and the way it's very contemporary, but still written, not just thrown together.

I'm now reading Douglass' Women, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, who I've never read. It's a novel about Frederick Douglass' black wife and white mistress. I haven't read any historical novels for awhile, definitely not slavery novels. I think I had my fill of that for a time after taking the Slavery in the Novel class during graduate school. I loved the work and the research, but now that reading is chiefly an escape from dishes, laundry and a day job, I need a lot more fun fantasy in my head.

Save this Mag!

Bitch Magazine is on the edge and they need subscribers to save the pub. Lisa Jervis, publisher, has sent out an email appeal. I'm going to post it here. Please pass it on and subscribe. www.bitchmagazine.com

Dear friends--



As many of you know, Bitch has always functioned on a shoestring budget, especially in the spreading-the-word department. Well, our mid-year financial statements show that the shoestring has gotten even stringier of late. We're falling pretty short of our projected magazine sales for the year, and to ensure that there's a Bitch next year and for many years to come, we need your help now. To put it bluntly, we need more subscribers. About 3,000 more.



Here's why subscriptions are so crucial to our financial health: When people buy Bitch at a bookstore, we eventually (four to five months later) get between $1.77 and $1.98 of the $4.95 plus tax that it costs. When people subscribe, they pay only $3.75 per issue (better for them), and we get all of the money right away (better for us).



A lot of people think that buying Bitch on the newsstand supports us just as much as subscribing. Some even think it's more helpful because it convinces bookstores that Bitch is worth carrying. But the bottom line is that Bitch is much better off having you as a subscriber than as a newsstand buyer. (Of course we'd rather have people buying it in the bookstore than not buying it at all, but I promise that stores will continue to stock the magazine, and new newsstand buyers will always come along.)



And then there are all those folks out there who say, "Oh, yeah, Bitch, I've thumbed through that in the bookstore/been to the website/read a friend's copy, and I always meant to subscribe." Now is the time to get all of these people to actually sign up!



Here's what you can do to help:



-If you are not a subscriber right now, become one today. Go to www.bitchmagazine.com/merch.htm, call us toll-free at 877-21-BITCH, or send a check for $15 to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612.



-Buy gifts for your friends and family. Multiple subscriptions are even cheaper: $15 for the first and $12 for each additional. See info above, and please note: If you are ordering online, the discount for multiple subscriptions will not show up automatically. Write a note in the comments field about it (along with the other addresses, of course) and we will manually adjust the price.



-Pass this message along. This e-mail is going out to about 700 or so people. To meet our goal, every one of you would need to buy 4.3 subscriptions--or we would collectively need to reach out to a whole bunch more than 700 of Bitch's closest friends. So please send this to anyone you know who likes the magazine or who you think would like the magazine. Help us get the word out!



-Tell people about Bitch. Read it on public transportation. Leave a copy in places where people will discover it (your local coffee house, your college's student center, the waiting room at your friendly women's health clinic, etc.). If you want to take part in a more formal effort to do this, e-mail publicity director Marisa Meltzer at marisa@bitchmagazine.com and tell her you're interested in helping to promote the magazine in your area.



-Buy a t-shirt, too. We have a bunch of styles now and they're super-cute. If you're an exhibitionist, we also have very happenin' underwear for sale. (Pictures and descriptions are at www.bitchmagazine.com/merch.htm.)



-Pester your local library to buy a subscription (they really do listen to patron requests).



-Donate a subscription to your local campus women's center, community resource center, or the like.



Anything you can do to get us further toward the goal of 3,000 subscriptions will help Bitch be strong and healthy!



With gratitude,

Lisa



--

Lisa Jervis

Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture

PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS!

1611 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 515

Oakland, California 94612

510-625-9390/lisa@bitchmagazine.com/www.bitchmagazine.com

Not Raymond

I posted earlier about E. Lynn Harris' new book. It's out tomorrow. Here's a NYTimes story on him and the book.



More Books

Walter Mosley's latest, Fear Itself, is now out. It's the second Fearless Jones novel.

Related: I'm pretty sure I heard that one of the cable networks is going to produce a series of mysteries based on the Easy Rawlins novels, also by Walter Mosley. But now I can't find the reference. Anybody have a clue?

Can't Get Enough

Barry White died yesterday. He was 58.



Liberty and Truth

CSMonitor had an excellent story this week about the truth about our founding fathers and slavery. Too often we gravitate toward a simple, easy version of our history. And we're told it's unpatriotic to think otherwise. That's lazy thinking and a disservice to our public history. And for me, that makes all our contemporary patriotic moments hard to swallow. I love being an American and I know that it has never been the kind of all-welcoming place we're taught it was from the beginning. It still isn't.



Book Anticipation

E. Lynn Harris's own invisible life will be revealed this week when his memoir, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, hits shelves. I've read all his novels and often wondered how much of the tales are based on his own life. Now I can't wait to find out. I'm also curious about his style in the memoir and whether it will be as readable as the novels. They are very much popcorn reading - fun and light and easy to turn one page after another.

Standing on the Top -- Whiteness Studies

Darryl Fears has an interesting article in the Washington Post about Whiteness studies, the new discipline of studying and critiquing the creation of the white race and white privilege. Worth a read. (via HarambeeJournal). While I know that white people often perceive themselves as raceless (if they think about race at all), I'm concerned that these efforts aren't focused more on bringing an analysis of race into the established disciplines. It seems to me that would be more appropriate in the long run. But I'm no longer walking the academic path, so what do I know?


Speaking of White

This mob idea seems like a very "white" thing to me. I'm not calling people out by race, but rather, noting that this seems to be something only a privileged class of people could or would do. What is the point of having a mindless mob with no real goal to pursue? And if this were a group of poor people or people of color doing this, would it be interesting or would they all end up in jail? Someone needs to do this kind of action with a purpose - to actually address some of our society's problems, rather than just as a lark.


And yes, I'm reminded again that I need to read Smart Mobs.