50 years of stories

While I was in San Francisco for VONA, I wandered off a couple of times just to see parts of the city. One of the places I wanted to see was Marcus Books, which has a store in San Francisco and one in Oakland.

Marcus Books celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. That's an incredible milestone for a bookstore. An independent bookstore. A Black bookstore.

I had never been to Marcus Books before, but of course now I know the way to any place with an address. As long as my phone battery doesn't die. When I looked it up, I saw that it really was walking distance from the USF campus, where VONA participants live for a week. So I got in a good long, solitary walk, seeing a little more of the city and I was headed to a bookstore. Joy all around and through me.

While I haven't been to Marcus Books before, I had met Blanche Richardson, whose parents founded the store, multiple times. She is a regular instructor/presenter/speaker at Tina McElroy Ansa's Sea Island Writers Retreats and a wonderful writer and incredible editor.

I got a glimpse of Blanche while I was there, but didn't get to talk to her. I did meet her sister Karen, who told me a little of the history of the neighborhood - which was hosting a jazz festival the next weekend.

But let me back up. The store is in a building that was once a jazz club - where greats like Miles Davis and Billie Holiday would play after hours. After having played in clubs that catered to white audiences. So it is in a historic building and clearly the Richardsons have a great respect for our history.

I was so happy just to be in the store. I love books - obviously! - and Black books and independent stores. Within the first few minutes I had to remind myself that my budget was limited and that I had to get whatever I purchased into my carryon bag.

It's hard to hold myself back when browsing so many books and seeing not one shelf marked "urban fiction."

Then I saw the kids section. I was done. It was difficult to choose just 2 books each for our kids. Wonderful to have so many books with images of them on the shelf. Astronauts and boy reporters and boxing legends and strong-willed bakers and more.

The Black bookstore in my city closed years ago. This year one of the independent stores closed. So it's exciting for me to be in a store with so much to offer, all right there at my fingertips.

I have ordered lots of books online and via a chain store. I still love browsing and buying, though. And the browsing experience is better for me in independent stores.

I'm thankful that I was able to visit Marcus Books this year, during their 50th anniversary. I hope the store has many more years and that I will make it all the way out there again one day.

Do you have a favorite independent bookstore? How is the book buying experience different there? Post away in the comments.

Playing catch up

Maybe I shouldn't think of this post as playing catch up. I'm simply jumping in where I can. And sharing what I like to read with you.

Anika from WriteBlack reviewed Nnedi Okarofor's Who Fears Death for White Readers Meet Black Authors, Carleen Brice's blog. My favorite part of the review is how Anika gives us touch points from other science fiction to help flesh out the protagonist, Onyesonwu. (My favorite, the reference to Sauron. I assume it's the dark lord from Lord of the Rings, which I've been seeing in pieces again over the last two weeks. Doesn't get any darker than that - Sauron is compared to Onyesonwu's father).

Erika Dreifus, whose collection Quiet Americans will be out next year, writes about pre-publication anxiety. Published authors - head over to her blog and tell her how you manage the pre-pub anxiety. Every Thursday she is writing about her pre-publication journey.

If you know me or have ever read more than one entry here, you know that I think Tayari Jones is all of that - I enjoy her novels, her online writing voice and, had the great pleasure of hearing her read once. So, just as a reminder, bookmark her blog. Today I'm linking to her post about winning the Hurston/Wright Award in 2000 and what a breakthrough that was for her. She taught at the Hurston/Wright Writers Week this summer (just last week). Two of my VONA peeps were there last week as well. I know it was amazing.

Summer reads, a few more weeks

I define summer in different ways depending on where I am in life. As a kid and parent, summer is really those seemingly few days between the end of school and the first day back.

When I was an adult without kids, it stretched until I had to start wearing closed toe shoes and, in Florida, summer seemed endless.

This summer is my VONA summer (the workshop for writers of color held every year in San Francisco). That means it's a summer of reading and writing and challenging myself.

So I am going to read more as I write more.

Here are a couple of titles that have caught my eye:

32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter. Because of the cover - there's pink! - I wasn't really tuned into it. I didn't feel like reading anything that seemed to revolve around romance. But I keep seeing people post good things about it and I'm going to get it this summer.
Check out Ernessa's blog.

Substitute Me by Lori Tharps is in the current issue of Essence magazine. I have really liked Lori's articles and blog, so I want to read this one. Interesting storyline about her protagonist becoming a nanny, though. I'm sure there's a lot she can do with that!

Resources for writers – post-VONA

I just got back on 7/4 from the annual VONA workshop in San Francisco. I have dreamed about going to VONA for years and only had the courage and commitment to apply last year. I didn’t get in. This year I got in and nothing could keep me from it. If you don’t know, VONA is an annual multi-genre workshop for writers of color. I’ll write more about it in the next few days and weeks as my heart and mind are so full from the experience. I wanted to share some writing resources with my workshop group and though it would be worthwhile to post these links here as well.

Practicing Writing blog by Erika Dreifus
Calls for submissions, writers guidelines, jobs, residencies, awards – basically tools, resources and opportunities for writers (poets, nonfiction, fiction)
http://practicing-writing.blogspot.com/

Creative Writing Opportunities List
Email listserv with calls for papers, stories, poems, essays from journals, anthologies, magazines. Getting the daily emails might be a bit much, but you could also join the group and just bookmark the page – without getting all the emails.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CRWROPPS-B/

Kalamu ya Salaam’s blog
Kalamu has maintained a listserv and now a blog for many years that features information for Black writers and supporters of cultural production from and by the African diaspora. He posts writing and publishing opportunities as well as articles and videos on culture, history and politics.
http://kalamu.posterous.com/

If you have other links for writers on the rise, please post them in the comments.

The food thing

I'm still thinking about summer reads, but wanted to go in another direction for a bit.

Food is on my mind a lot lately.

I know that I don't eat the right things or the right amounts and probably not even at the right times. So I've admitted that.

Now I'm trying to eat better and take care of my body. To that end one step I've taken is to make more smoothies.

That sounds ridiculous if smoothie makes you think of what I call candy smoothies - the super sweet drinks that may or may not have fresh fruit in them that we pay $3+ for from chains.

But that's not where I am on the smoothie continuum. A few weeks ago an herbalist I know recommended that I eat more dark, leafy greens to address a health issue. She suggested kale, spinach and collard greens. And she mentioned that I could cook them.

And while I am a Black woman from the south, I cannot cook greens. Well, I don't cook greens. I could, but I don't.

Because I wanted to start changing my life right away - and cooking a pot of greens wasn't going to be the quickest route, I looked up recipes for kale and found green smoothie recipes.

Greens in a smoothie? Sounds like something I would try. (I'm a veggie dabbler - love the idea of being vegan - but am so easily tempted by bacon, *sigh*)

So I tried a green smoothie - with a big leaf of kale, banana, and some other fruit - can't remember - with soy milk and honey. I added the honey because I was afraid I'd need to cover the taste of the greens.

It was great. It is not a candy smoothie - and my kids tried it, but after timid sips decided they would pass.

But I kept making them for myself, every day. Sometimes with kale and spinach. I have used apples, frozen mango, frozen blueberries, strawberries, peaches and grapes in the smoothies.

And I think it is helping me. But continuing to overeat and eat meat and dairy is not. So I need to try harder.

All this to say that Sistah Vegan, edited by A. Breeze Harper (@sistahvegan on Twitter), is on my reading list. As a Black woman who wants to eat better (healthier, slower, more ethically) I'd like to read what the racial/social perspectives are on vegan living.


And Soul Vegan Kitchen, by Bryant Terry (@bryantterry) has been on my list for a year. I need to just stop playing, buy it and make time to cook. He has another project in the works and mentioned that the African diaspora will be in full effect in the new cookbook. Can't wait to see that one as well. I love to look through and try things from cookbooks - it always feels like so many possibilities for joy.

Tonight - by grabbing the links above from Amazon - I saw By Any Greens Necessary, by Tracye Lynn McQuirter. Yes, I want to buy it from the title alone. Here's the product description:
* The first vegan guide geared to African American women
* More than forty delicious and nutritious recipes highlighted with color photographs
* Menus and advice on transitioning from omnivore to vegan
* Resource information and a comprehensive shopping list for restocking the fridge and pantry


Selfishly, I'd love to see these three books bundled with a membership to an organic food co-op. And a Vita Mix blender. That would be dreamy - and yes, drinking green smoothies has made me have joyous thoughts about green leaves and beautiful fruit.

There's so much more in all of this - how far we've moved from not even ancestral diets, but just the basic vegetable staples we had growing up - or some of us had. How much difference it makes what kind of stores, restaurants and advertising are in your community (I'll have to come back and post about my recent grocery story experience and memory) and how we've become a foodie culture but we're ruining it by slathering on cheese.

Not that I don't like cheese - I do. But I know I need to walk a different way.

Anyway, I'll leave you with a few smoothie ideas:

Basic -
1 big leaf fresh kale
1 banana - frozen if you can
1 - apple
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup soy milk

Take the basic and tweak it - add a cup of fresh spinach leaves or leave out the apple and add a cup or two of berries and another cup of mango or peaches.

Through in grapes or blueberries for a purple/green smoothie.

Tonight I threw in one small carrot stick. Add more or less or make a carrot focused smoothie.

Summer reading

At the beginning of summer (which technically doesn't begin until next week) many publications do a story about great summer books that are coming out.

These are the books that will fill beach bags and lazy summer afternoons. Even for the many people - the majority - who won't have lazy anything this summer, those lists help push books and give readers a way to sort through the mass of books online and in stores.

I like to read summer reading lists and recommendations to get titles in my head for my own reading. Obviously I love books, but I hate being in the library or in a store and not have some highly desired title in my head. I can always find something to read, but I love the anticipation and celebration of grabbing a title that I've been looking for.

Recently Professor Blair Kelley (@profblmkelly on Twitter) asked for summer reading recommendations of smart fiction by and about Black women. And that's exactly the kind of list I'd like to see somewhere.

So, here are some titles that are on my reading list:

Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor
International award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor enters the world of magic realist literature with a powerful story of genocide in the far future and of the woman who reshapes her world.

In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways, yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. After years of enslaving the Okeke people, the Nuru tribe has decided to follow the Great Book and exterminate the Okeke tribe for good. An Okeke woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different—special—she names her child Onyesonwu, which means “Who Fears Death?” in an ancient tongue.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, by Heidi Durrow
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky reveals an unfathomable past and explores issues of identity at a time when many people are asking "Must race confine us and define us?"

In the tradition of Jamaica Kincaid's Annie John and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, here is a portrait of a young girl—and society's ideas of race, class, and beauty.

It is a winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.

Whoops! I'm out of time. More summer reads later. If you have one ... put it in comments.

Eleanor Taylor Bland, mystery author

I love mysteries.

Whodunits and detective stories have been among my favorite reading pleasures since elementary school.

I remember a third grade teacher trying to dissuade me from reading Encyclopedia Brown books because they were below my reading level. I didn’t care one bit about the reading level – I loved those little mysteries. He was my first fictional sleuth.

And I read a few Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries along the way.

Because I majored in literature and eventually got a graduate degree in literature, many of my adult reading years were focused on more “serious” titles. So I didn’t read many mysteries.

A few years ago, I “rediscovered” my love of mysteries. I think the credit for that goes to Walter Mosley and Valerie Wilson Wesley. Black private investigators and rich storytelling, FTW.

There was only one problem. Once I’d read all of Valerie Wilson Wesley’s Tamara Hayle novels, I was jonesing for another Black woman detective to follow. So I went searching and eventually found a site that listed Black mysteries. And I began to read books by the women I found there.

One of those writers was Eleanor Taylor Bland. She wrote the series featuring Detective Marti McAlister. Marti is a widow with two children who is on the police force in a small town outside of Chicago.

She became one of my favorite characters. There are many books that feature lone investigators and detectives with no family ties or obligations. They endanger themselves and take incredible risks. But the inclusion of family life in Bland’s novels kept me interested. I wondered how the character’s life would develop and knew that she had motivations beyond solving the case. And I’m interested in how family life affects the character’s decisions, information gathering and thinking. How would a mother approach a case differently than an unencumbered man?

Bland wrote Marti in a way that kept her out of the cozy side of the genre (which is where sleuths tend to face those issues, more, I think).

Several of my favorite female sleuths face those family questions, including Marti McAlister, Tamara Hayle, Charlotte Justice (novels by Paula Woods).

Bland died at age 65. I’ve only seen one long obituary on her. It makes me think that there are many readers who have missed out on her work. And that makes me sad. I had to look for her work, but when I found it, I loved it.

If you love mysteries, female sleuths, stories about justice-loving working women - go read one of her books. Here's a list.

Things I need to make time for

Time seems really short to me these days. I hear about something that interests me, but can't get to it and then three days later it's too far from my mind for me to go back, remember and read it. So, before I forget, here are some bookish things I hope to get to soon. Maybe this will spark your memory?

I'm interested in William Jelani Cobb's new book on President Obama: The Substance of Hope
Did you know that Dr. Cobb has been in Russia for a few months? Very interesting updates from his Twitter timeline (@jelani9). He's on his way to the U.S. right now and launching the book at the Carter Center in Atlanta in a few days.

When I'm feeling a low and needing to pump myself up, I go to Mary J. Blige. She so rocks that Black woman swagger vibe. (And yes, I believe women have swagger and I am getting better at remembering mine). So I really want to read Mark Anthony Neal's essay on Mary J. Blige as the "New American Voice." (He's @newblackman on Twitter) MJB has been cast as Nina Simone for a biopic about the singer. I have real mixed feelings about that. I have doubts MJB's acting ability for what I think is such an amazing role. But I do love MJB ...

And I hope to get The Little Black Book of Success this weekend. It's by three corporate professionals who wrote down leadership advice targeted at Black women. One of my little dreams is to read this with a group of corporate women I know and do a discussion or discussions about it.

What's on your TBR (To be read) list?

Red Velvet Cake Day

This post is not at all about books. Consider yourself warned.

My birthday is tomorrow. It’s a big one. And for awhile I’ve been thinking I should do something big. Go back to Paris. Create a bucket list. Do a zip line experience. Throw a big party.

And I didn’t do any of it. I have lots of excuses, but they’re just excuses. With enough planning, faith and creativity I could have made those things happen. I just didn’t.

I decided a week ago that I would do something, though.

I would make a red velvet cake from scratch.

[I used Tayari Jones' amazing recipe. Wonderful.]

No, this is not a life-shattering moment. It’s not even my first time making a red velvet cake (RVC) from scratch. (And yes, my health-conscious friends, I know it is full of sugar and red dye. It’s not a staple food – I will be back to kale smoothies tomorrow).

But it’s been a long time. And I love RVC.

I’d decided that my birthday would be my own National RVC day. I would have at least one piece of RVC for my birthday.

Usually I’m a little disappointed in the RVC I buy in stores and restaurants. There are a few exceptions.

I didn’t want to be disappointed this year. Though I was really tired today and we started late (I made the cake with my kids), I persevered!

Using Tayari Jones’ recipe, I ended up with a beautiful cake. In spite of …
Not having three cake pans (used a Bundt pan instead)
Putting in the wrong amount of butter (added the last of the butter about 5 steps late)
Thinking I didn’t have vinegar – and finding it at the last minute.

What I remembered as I iced the cake after 9 p.m., I felt silly. I baked a cake for myself even though I wasn’t having a party or even dinner with friends.

I wished so to be close enough geographically to my mother an aunts so I could ask one of them to bake a cake for me. It sounds very selfish. It is.

And that’s what I remember that my great aunts and aunts do and did for each other. So many times I remember hearing one aunt say she’d gone to pick up her cake from my Aunt “L” [not using their full names]. Or being in the house when my mother was baking someone a cake or pie – or two – one for their family and one just for that person.

Baking a cake for someone is such an obvious labor of love. It takes time, a little of your own money, and skill. And the fortitude to create something wonderful that you’ll send out of your house.
As I put the icing on the cake – and I am terrible at icing a cake – I wished I had someone who loved me enough to bake me cake.

The truth is, there are many people who love me that much. I know that.

And the ones who would (and do!) bake me cakes are just too far away.

But I could do it for myself. I love myself that much.

A few quick links

Just enough time to share a few links.

Tayari Jones is boycotting Arizona to protest the immigration law and racial profiling. She cancelled an appearance. During a recession. In the state where she finished her MFA. Amazing.

I really want to read Hellhound on his Trail, a book about the King assassination that traces the movements of James Earl Ray before he killed Dr. King. (Link is to the interview with author Hampton Sides on Fresh Air).

Attica Locke's novel, Black Water Rising, is on the shortlist for the Orange Prize.

What are your book habits?

Last night I remembered the time in my life when I had to read the "Ferber book". For those who haven't been exposed to it, it's a pediatrician's book about children's sleep and sleep disorders. When I read it, specifically the information about sleep habits, I realized that adults have sleep habits too. And I recognized my own immediately. Without my (blessedly) simple and short sleep steps, it's slightly more difficult for me to go to sleep.

Every night I do the same thing. Get in. Turn to my right. Rest awhile. Turn to my left. Go to sleep.

It would make more sense to just be on my left side to begin with. But I can't do it that way. And if I have to, it's slightly irritating.

Other habits we've developed over years are the same. We shop for grocery at the same store in the same order every time. Or we always read the newspaper with a cup of coffee in hand. Habits.

I think we have reading and book buying habits as well. A particular place to buy or try a new book, whether it's the nearest bookstore, a discount retailer or at the public library. Or a favorite time and place for reading - that easy chair or at night before we go to sleep. (I am a little obsessed with sleep right now!)

When our habits are disrupted, we move away from reading or lose our key trigger, source or opportunity. For example, here are some of the disruptions:
A favorite bookstore closes
The bookstore's hours change (i.e. from 9 a.m. opening on Sunday, to 10 a.m.)
Location changes (I once worked one block from the public library. Even with two young children, I read so much.)
Leisure time changes (we have new friends and go out more; we have children and do less reading)
Income changes
Even displays have an impact - what if your favorite section was moved?

For me the disruptions include losing days that I could reasonably go to the library, to lack of time, to lack of non-chain retail options. (Handselling at our local African American bookstore was key. I can't remember going there without buying at least one book).

It's really odd though that I'm reading less. Because by other measures, I'm reading much more. It's just that my reading is online. But I don't buy books that can be read online.

And while I get a lot of e-mails (I'm trying to cut back) from companies, none are short stories that I can read right now. So I read essays, blogs, tweets. What if one of those emails was the next chapter in a book I've been meaning to read? What if it were just the first chapter? Would that be enough to get me to go back out tonight and buy the whole book? Or pay to download it?

I know excerpts and sample chapter are out there. They just aren't where my habits are taking me. I'm sure I'm missing something. But there's a good chance I won't turnover to see it.

What are your book, reading habits? How have they been disrupted? Are the disruptions positive or negative?

In the loop - info on our authors

One of the things I struggle with is finding out about new books by African American authors. Back when I was in college (okay, way back) it was easy. I was focused on literature and regularly going to book events on my campus and throughout the city (Atlanta).

I'd see new titles in our campus bookstore, the Shrine of the Black Madonna bookstore, Charis Books and in one of the libraries. I had the time and the focus to stay on top of it. Plus, it was Atlanta, so covering Black authors was part of the daily newspaper's content.

Now, though I follow the book world as closely as I can, it seems I miss a lot of stuff. I hear about books on NPR, via Twitter, occasionally on Facebook and from publishers.

That's why I was a little put off when I got what was labeled the "last" issue of the African American interest newsletter from Random House. I mean really, how could they stop promoting our books. Or were they just not publishing enough of them to promote?

I posed the question on Twitter - why did you stop the newsletter - and @randomhouse responded. They are deferring to the newsletter from their One World imprint and there is an RSS feed you can sign up for. Okay. Got it. Here are the links for you all as well:
One World
RSS feed on African American authors

I know there are books out there that I'm missing - so I look for ways to stay in the loop. How do you follow the African American book scene?

Searching for juvenile chapter books

Juvenile chapter books are big in our house right now. My son is an avid reader (Yay!) and he devours every chapter book. When we go the library I make sure to find books featuring African American characters and present them to him- sometimes it takes more looking than a young child might thing to do.

And I love finding books featuring African American boys. He’s very young still, so I have to be careful when I’m in more of the YA section rather than juvenile. Those 12+ themes are still too much for him, I think.

So on my last trip home I saw my 1970s copy of Sounder, by William H. Anderson. I remember a little about the story and that I was very affected by it. I think I may have read it in 3rd or 4th grade.

I’m going to re-read it, though, to see if he’s ready for it.

We may even be able to see the movie with Paul Winfield (I think there is a remake also with Carl Lumbly).

I’m starting a list of books to check out for him and pre-read. Today, via Twitter, I saw mention of Eighth Grade Superzero, by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich.


Here are some other possible titles on my list.

Zahrah the Windseeker, by Nnedi Okorafor – which is rated for grades 5 – 7 (Yay!)


Locomotion (and other titles) by Jacqueline Woodson –

The Ziggy series from Sharon Draper

Mildred Taylor’s (author of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry) books – we have a few already.

Donovan’s Word Jar, by Monalisa DeGross (we enjoyed Donovan’s Double Trouble)


What chapter books featuring Black characters do you remember reading? What books have the kids in your life enjoyed? Post suggestions in comments.

Getting my reading mojo back

I haven’t been reading for awhile. I realized at the end of February that it had been a long while, maybe even months since I’d really read something in the way I loved. Falling in love with a book, staying up too late to read and sneaking in a few pages whenever I could – at lunch during work, while the kids put on their pajamas – just bits and pieces.

Last semester I took my first class in an MFA program and we had a heavy reading load (heavy for me, a fulltime working mother of two). So I had lots of pages that I was obligated to read. Some of the work we read was very enjoyable too. But some of it was just trudging through to learn more about the craft – it was fiction I wouldn’t have chosen on my own.

I think that was part of my reading drought of a couple of months. I was just taking a break from the grad school reading list and dealing with some surprises at home.

But I really missed it.

And I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to read. I wished for a new Octavia Butler novel and came close to re-reading the Patternmaster books again (for perhaps the fourth time).

Then I remembered how many authors I’m following on FB and Twitter and that Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant’s new novel, Uptown, was going to be out at the beginning of March. I was excited – I just wanted something that would be engaging, modern and smart.

So I bought it the week it was out – even though the B&N closest to our house didn’t have it. We drove to another location that had it … and luckily I had a gift certificate designated for my kids to get their own stacks of books.

Anyway, back to Uptown. I didn’t really have dedicated time to get into it until I took a trip by myself two weeks later. (Travelling alone by air is one of my favorite things – there’s always a coffee shop in the airport, snacks and books and magazines. And no one to talk to or answer to!).

Once I had the time and got into the novel, I was hooked. It was everything I said above – engaging, modern (really timely plot) and smart.

Deberry and Grant gave us real characters with real problems – there were challenges, but they didn’t seem contrived. Big enough to propel the story, but not so far fetched that I didn’t connect with the characters.

By the time I learned what Avery’s secret was, I was aching to know.

And somehow, I felt sad for Dwight. I feel I should have hated him outright, but it didn’t happen that way. In fact, I think he got a raw deal and no one could show him how else to handle it.

When you read the book, make sure to read the author’s letter at the end. And do save it until the end. It’s a nice essay about the role place can play in a novel. The setting isn’t just a backdrop – it should be a dynamic part of the work.

Now that I’m reading again, I’m looking forward to getting some of the books I’ve missed and am hearing good things about. I think Attica Locke’s Blackwater Uprising has next. I’ll have to see if anyone has it in stock today. Others on my list are Wench, by Dolen Perkins - Valdez, Tiphanie Yanique's collection, and Leonard Pitts' debut novel.

What else should I check for?

Wednesday links

I'm working toward finding balance between blog posts and Twitter and Facebook. So tonight I'm going to cross post from Twitter to here - I don't have a tool for it, so this is the old fashioned copy and paste way!

Erika Dreifus of the Practicing Writing blog is now on Twitter. Check out her blog and her feed. (for the uninitiated, Erika posts job opportunities, contests, journal calls and more for writers.)

Lynn Neary (NPR) talks to Dolen Perkins-Valdez about her debut novel, Wench, and the relationships between owners and slaves. Listen here.

Junot Diaz critiques President Obama's storytelling ability. It's an interesting essay. Stories are really important to our understanding of the world and how we make decisions. I'm thinking about Diaz' idea that President Obama - an excellent storyteller - has dropped the ball now that he's in office. Is part of the problem that, from outside the White House, he told his stories too well and people now are unwilling to settle for any less than the wonderful way he painted that picture of hope. In other words did he draw us into setting our expectations too high?

Deaths and births

Obituaries -
I learn so much from reading obituaries. Each one is a miniature history lesson and insight into our culture. Particularly about public figures and artists. (The obits sadden me, too. I am not minimizing the pain of the families and friends of the deceased. I also know that a well done obituary can be a powerful way to tell the deceased's life story one more time. I hope that being one of many readers who is edified and inspired by their loved one's life story is some kind of tribute).

Unfortunately, there are many writers and artists who I only hear about when their obituaries appear.

A couple of the links I've wanted to share this week are obituaries, so, before I share more of them, I thought I'd explain.

Joseph Wilcots, cinematographer on 'Roots' - LATimes
Carleen Hatcher Polite, whose novels explored racism and sexism - NYTimes
Percy E. Sutton, civil rights and political trailblazer, attorney for Malcolm X - NYTimes

Births -
Really, I'm just posting about one birth, the debut of Dolen Perkins-Valdez's novel, WENCH. Today is the publication date. Haven't heard about the book? Here are a few links to catch you up.
(Congratulations, Dolen!)

Check out the author's blog.

She sold the historical fiction novel on the first try - Examiner.com

If you aren't buying it at a local bookstore (HINT), here's the Amazon link.
And it will be featured in the February issue of O Magazine.

Into the new year

Today has been a wonderful day. I woke up with what felt like the beginning of a cold, but I pressed on anyway. And made the New Year's brunch and just chilled at home (well, after the cooking, clean up, playing with kids, etc).

And it has been one of the best days I've had in years.

So I am quite hopeful for the new year.

I'm looking forward to reading more authors (new to me authors), releases from favorite authors (inc. Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones) and doing more of my own writing here on the blog and elsewhere.

A few thoughts and links:
New Year's resolutions - shouldn't we really keep quiet about those until March? It would make more sense to talk about the new habits you've kept up with once there's some data that you'll stick to it.

Book of the year?:
USA Today named Kathryn Stockett's book, The Help, book of the year. I'm mystified. It's still on my to-be-read list. But I am dragging my feet a bit.

Kids lit - Books about President Obama:
There's a post on the WaPost's book blog about kids books about Pres. Obama. A professor has been keeping tabs on books about presidents. In Pres. George W. Bush's first year in office there were 6 kids books published about him. In President Obama's first term - there have been 48 kids books published about him. Amazing (and wonderful, too).

Kicking off 2010

I am working on entering 2010 with an attitude of hope and confidence. I hope you're also ending the year on a positive note and, if not, at least moving as quickly as possible to a new start in January.

Now for a few links.

Women on Writing plans an issue in March focused on YA writers. Find out how to submit a query here. (Saw this at Erika Dreifus' blog, Practicing Writer).
Brown Girl is kicking off an African Diaspora Reading Challenge in 2010 - details here. (Found on Tayari Jones' blog, www.tayarijones.com/blog.
Somehow I missed Bernice McFadden's 10th Anniversary, 10,000-books campaign for her debut novel, Sugar. Sounds like it was a success. Read her blog. I'm going to get Sugar and Glorious, her new novel out in May.

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?

Twitter, an unbelievable cover and links

I'm on Twitter, occasionally posting about Black books and authors, at @berndawn. Come on over.

Cover Foolishness
If the protagonist of your novel is Black, who in their right mind would put a white person on the cover? Um, your publisher?

Justine Larbalestier's new book, Liar, is out in the U.S. The Australian cover is a white background with "Liar" all over it. The book is about a pathological liar. The girl, Micah, is Black. The U.S. cover features a white female with long, straight hair obscuring part of her face.

Larbalestier has written a long post about it, notably after other people pointed out the disconnect between the cover and the character. Her post is worth visiting - read it here.

Honestly, the cover would not have kept me from reading the book or, if I had older children, selecting it for them. But a cover with a Black teenager on it would have assured I'd give the book a chance. As a mother the cover is often the main draw for me to a new book. (My kids are in picture books and early chapter books at this stage). Children's and YA books aren't in the mainstream press as much as adult titles are (though even adult coverage has diminished). So the cover is my map to whether I'd pick the book up for my child. And in the library (where librarians in my town do a wonderful job of putting diverse books in prominent places) and book stores, I am drawn to books that:
Feature Black characters on the cover
Have beautiful artwork
And show children of multiple ethnicities and races
Have an international theme

So the cover certainly does matter to me and mine. Hopefully the paperback version of Liar will have a better cover.

Links
A column mention about the success of a comic book about Michelle Obama.
Did you know you could throw a birthday party for a book launch? Me either. Folks are doing it on Twitter.

E. Lynn Harris

Today, even as I waited to hear confirmation and wished I’d read wrong, I kept thinking about how E. Lynn Harris was a game changer.

He wrote 11 novels. The first one, Invisible Life, was self-published and wildly popular. Even though or because he told a story that was diverse in a way we didn’t usually accept in “African American” fiction. There were gay and bisexual men in the story.

Stop and think about that.

He was the first writer to do that in contemporary popular fiction with mostly Black characters.

Harris wrote about the down low well before that other guy.

He sold books out of his car to Black women and we continued to buy them.

A Black woman lent me Invisible Life to read as I waited on the phone to ring at a temporary job. The job didn’t turn into something permanent and I left it and the book. Weeks or months later, I picked it up at the library and finished it.

It was a few years before I realized that the first copy I’d read was one of the copies Harris had self-published. He was one of the first big self-publishing successes.

His story of men on the down low changed the game and showed that maybe readers weren’t so narrow after all.

Harris was telling stories that were new to some people, but not everyone. He helped us recognize and talk about questions that were there all along. Recognizing the stories is part of what made his books so readable and popular.

Today I wondered how his books have affected us. How many people found courage and comfort reading his stories? Or in seeing that other people were reading E. Lynn Harris and that maybe others weren’t so narrow?

Last fall, after the election and the success of Proposition 8 in California, there was some sharp focus on homophobia and conservative leanings in the Black community.

Yet I know that some Black people, okay probably a lot of Black people, in California read E. Lynn Harris. He opened minds and reflected real lives.
He could not have been successful without many open hearts and minds. And his stories opened some of those hearts and minds.

I’m sad that there won’t be any more E. Lynn Harris novels. I’m overjoyed that he gave us so many characters and so much to think about.

Links
AP obit on Wall Street Journal web site
CNN.com with quotes from Tananarive Due and Tina McElroy Ansa

New reads - finding them

I'm missing a lot of books - and some books aren't actually getting out there or published in the first place.

I was thinking today about finding books that I'd like to read. And in a way I'm overloaded on information. I consume a lot of media and I am a lover of books so I hear about new titles on blogs, e-mail lists and the like.

Sometimes it's too much though. And right now, all of my book information comes from the anonymous/computer voice. A real person probably wrote the information, but I'm not in a place in my life where people press books into my hands and say, read this.

Nor am I having/taking time to browse stores.

I do still make it to the library, but event that has been reduced.

So how do I cut through the clutter?

It takes a couple of hits for me to cut through. I've heard about Stacyann Chin's memoir and Danzy Senna's new book. I think I heard about them in looking for reviews for the blog. And maybe Tayari Jones mentioned Stacyann Chin's book on her blog. Sitting at the hair salon today - something I don only every 2 or 3 months, I picked up Elle magazine. Which I never do. And there, on their readers' pick page were both of those books. Plus another by a woman of color that sounded great. But I should have written it down.

Now, if I can hold the cover image, title or author names from any of those three books in my head until I get to the bookstore or, more likely, library, I may get one of them.

That's a long way to go for the books. I think it used to be simpler than that for me.

Things that stay with you ...

I saw the news stories about the death of actor David Carradine. And it has stayed with me all day. If you haven't heard about his death, it will likely be all over the media for the next few hours or so - and yes the news cycle does seem that short.

It is being treated as a suicide, but that doesn't seem conclusive.


For what it's worth, I will just say that if you need it, please get help, ask for help. Even if you only think you need it - seek help. And if you're in a position to - offer help to someone who is struggling with life. Even if you just ask the question and offer your listening ear.

Everybody needs help sometimes. I have, do and will again, I'm sure.

What to read next?

I love the MotherTalk promotion idea/platform. I've been visiting their site for awhile and am just wildly curious about how successful it is.

And recently, MotherTalk took on promoting the NYTimes Young Readers' Edition of Obama: The History Journey. Check out Literary Obama's review here. I am definitely going to get a copy for my son. He loves to read, loves history and is an Obama supporter :).

I have seen two references to KickStarter.com today. It's a crowd funding site - you post your project, people can chip in funds, the funds grow and voila - you're funded.

100 people published a collection that way. I love that idea. What can you do with it?

Resources that rock

I'm always so excited when I find a page, blog or just an individual who is a great resource. You know, the person/blog who always has good news for somebody.

I've posted about this site before - and it doesn't really have anything to do specifically with black books - but with writers in general. Every Monday Erika posts job listings at Practicing Writing. And in this economy, she always finds something to list. The jobs she listed today rock. One made me want to apply - and I am in no position to move - plus, 30 seconds later remembered I have a very swell job already.

So there's a blessing for somebody in it - is it you?
Practicing Writing - worth the bookmark.

What sites do you know of that routinely provide something that rocks?

Books for Summer

There are a lot of interesting books that have either just come out or are coming up. I'm going to be getting some of these, but I know I won't get to review them for awhile. So I'm just going to pick some, throw up some links and hopefully help introduce them to some readers who haven't heard about them otherwise.

If you know of a hot book coming out this summer, post it in the comments. It's really important to get the sales going in the first few weeks and months of publication. And if money is tight - request a copy from your local library. Library orders matter.

So today, I found Felicia Pride's interview with Farai Chideya, whose debut novel, Kiss the Sky is out.
Read the Pride interview.
Buy it: Amazon Charis Powells


And I'm really curious about Percival Everett's I Am Not Sidney Poitier. Mostly because of what Martha Southgate posted about Sapphire's PUSH and the movie based on it, Precious.

I think of PUSH as one of the most wrenching books I've ever read. It didn't offend me - I thought it was beautiful and crushing, similar to the way The Bluest Eye affected me years ago. Sapphire gives us just one (horrendous and tough) story of the human experience.

Anyway, Martha says that Everett's Erasure is the counterpoint - a funny, intelligent one - to PUSH. So, I'll start with that novel of his. Here are the details on I Am Not Sidney Poitier.
Reviews: Time Out New York


Buy it: Amazon

Quick links - better than none!

Life has been doubly busy for me in my "real-world" incarnation. So I'm trying to get back in the groove and figured I could post a few links.

Here's an excerpt I can't wait to read - from Otto Penzler's Black Noir: Mystery, Crime and Suspense Fiction by African American Writers.

I love mysteries and am intrigued by how race is presented in the genre.


The NY Daily News has a story on African American romances and how the success of some authors is gaining notice and lucrative contracts. It's really interesting to me that the romance authors are so prolific, even though many of them still work day jobs.

Black Voices has reviewed Children of the Waters, by Carleen Brice. I am already committed to buying it and the review confirms that decision ;).

Publishers Weekly has an item on the African American programming at BEA this week.

Notes late at night

It's been a long time ... I shouldn't have left you (or something like that, I have terrible recall for hip hop line and movie plots).

Anyway, I've been reading about Colson Whitehead's new novel, Sag Harbor. But it wasn't until I read this review in Time that I felt (feel)compelled to read it. Even though I have never owned a beach home, I really did say dag and listen to Tears for Fears.


Alice Walker at Emory
The exhibit from Alice Walker's papers is now open at Emory University in Atlanta. I'm a proud Emory grad and a lover of Alice Walker's work. I hope to make it to ATL by the end of September to see the exhibit.

An anthology on hip hop motherhood

Here's a call for papers, lifted from the excellent listserv run my Kalamu ya Salaam.

More posts on other things later ...
>>PUB: call for papers on hip hop and motherhood
============ ========= ========= ========
Call for Papers: Please pass on
Call for Papers on Hip Hop and Motherhood

Mothering and Hip-Hop Culture CALL FOR PAPERS FOR EDITED VOLUME

Demeter Press is seeking submissions for an edited collection by Maki Motapanyane and Shana Calixte to be published in 2011.

Motherhood is an experience that has been ever-present yet invisible in the global music genre of Hip-Hop. Yet this aspect of women?s experiences within the movement has garnered little or no interest from journalists, writers and scholars of Hip-Hop culture.

Nor do we have any understanding of how mothers who remain Hip-Hop enthusiasts negotiate their relationship to the culture of Hip-Hop and its music with their children. What are the spaces that motherhood occupies in Hip-Hop? Are there ways of understanding mothering in Hip-Hop along a historical continuum? What are some of the ways that motherhood complicates the very masculinist discourses around hip hop?

How can we create an empowered and feminist Hip-Hop mothering, what would it look like and how would it challenge the status quo? How are mothers engaging with Hip-Hop, both locally and globally?

The aim of this collection is to give motherhood within Hip-Hop culture an intellectual point of entry into an existing field of

academic debates. Themes that submitted proposals engage may include:

* Hip-Hop histories
* Masculinity
* Misogyny and violence
* Consumerism and capitalism
* The globalization and/or transnationality of Hip-Hop
* Cultural appropriation
* Political subversion
* Cultural diversity
* Feminist mothering
* Heterosexualities
* Queer identities and sexuality
* Aesthetic continuity and change
* Representation and the marketing of identities
* Other themes not mentioned here

We seek both creative and academic submissions that tackle the complex ways in which motherhood and Hip-Hop frame these and other discussions. Abstracts are welcome from a variety of academic disciplines and perspectives.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Abstracts: 250 words in length.
Deadline for Abstracts: August 1, 2009
Papers: 15-18 pages
Deadline for Papers: January 7, 2010

Please submit proposals to: Maki Motapanyane at maki@yorku.ca and Shana Calixte at scalixte@laurentian .ca

Late night links

Just getting in under the wire - for my bed time that is!

RingShout wants to hear from Black students in MFA programs about their experiences. I can't wait to see what pops up there.

GalleyCatmentions that Michael Crichton's remaining novels will be published posthumously. Makes me wonder whether Octavia Butler had work that someone will eventually publish. I really hope so - I still am sad about not hearing more of her stories.

I've been out of town and offline (well off the laptop, on the mobile device).

So that's why the posts have been even fewer.

Nothing big to note tonight.

Tananarive Due said she had some news on Facebook - but she will reveal later. Even the tease made me excited because I love her work. So stay tuned.

Felicia Pride will have a books column at The Root. Very cool.

Selfish note - for the first time in a long time, I spent almost a week away from home and didn't finish a book. Usually I read like a madwoman when I travel. But there was too much stress, activity and just busy-ness to focus on one book.

I didn't even finish the Sunday NYTimes. Still in pieces in my bag.

Demise of papers and day jobs

I'm really saddened by the state (and demise in some cases) of our nation's daily newspapers. There are many issues with the press, but when the print press is on it, they rock.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
So today, I'm thinking about the Atlanta Journal - Constitution, which is making big newsroom staff cuts.

The Atlanta cuts in particular remind me of the fact that newspapers are a traditional day job for many writers - and there are a number of authors who've come out of (through?) the AJC, including:
Tina McElroy Ansa, Baby of the Family, Ugly Ways, The Hand I Fan With, You Know Better, Taking After Mudear
Nathan McCall, Makes Me Wanna Holler, What's Going On, Them
Phyllis Alecia Perry (Stigmata)
Valerie Boyd, Wrapped in Rainbows

And others, I'm sure.

So will the demise of newspapers have an impact on the development of our storytellers? Certainly writers develop in other ways and other places. In fact newspapers may actually stymie some writers. Still it's been a home to some of the best.

The more I think about it, many of our authors have a newspaper background - not all, but many. Hopefully the authors of the future will keep writing, newspaper career or not.

Quickly - I'm up too late

Here's a story about the upcoming Callaloo conference at Washington University.

Connie Briscoe has a new book coming out in June. It's Sisters and Husbands. Drama!

There is a book titled "Around the Way Girls." It's a collection of three short stories. (I'm not completely random, this relates to an earlier post - disregard if you don't get it).

I'm working on not complaining. So I can't post a little blog item that made me stomp my little (well, not so little) feet. Trying to let it be ...

Monday - reviews and news

I haven't read graphic novels in the past. Sometimes, I'll read about one that sounds interesting, but I never seemed to make the leap to getting one in my hands. Now I am hearing or reading about them more and wonder if I'm missing something.

A couple of things have caught my eye. I received a review copy of Still I Rise, a graphic novelization of the history of African Americans. An easy entry for me into graphic novels.

I was curious about the concept and read parts of the graphic novel, which has a picture of Pres. Obama and other historical figures on the cover.

The foreward to the novel is wonderful, since my knowledge of African Americans and the graphic/comic form is nearly inexistent, it was very educational. I'm glad to have had the book in my hands just for that piece of history. Charles Johnson penned the foreward.

The rest of the novel is interesting, but I couldn't place it. Meaning, it seemed like something that would be engaging for young readers (say 13 and up - there's tough stuff depicted), but I didn't know that I'd pick it up over a traditional history. It would be interesting to hear what a middle or high school teacher would think of this as a tool to get teens interested in history.

I read through parts of it a few weeks ago and am thinking about it again because Beacon Press has announced that it will publish a graphic novel version of Octavia Butler's Kindred. And I really love her work, so I'm interested to see the graphic novel. Though I really can't understand why no one has filmed that amazing book or any of her titles.



Quick links:
I have a review of E. Lynn Harris' latest novel at Bookreporter.com

The San Francisco Chronicle reviews Walter Mosley's new book, The Long Fall.

Thursday links and such

Over the last year, I've had to play around with two browsers. That was after leaving my PC behind for a Mac. So after the PC-Mac switch, I lost my bookmarks - and yes, I know, those can be moved, but I didn't do it.

And I haven't built my list back up. So I've gone many months without visiting some of the sites I like to read. I was happy to see Carleen Brice post that ringShout, a site begun my some authors who want to focus on African American literary work, is still (back?) up and running.

I am still catching up on posts there, but I found the suggested reading list for a course posting interesting. Go to the site to understand what I'm referencing. I don't hear enough about literary fiction by "us" and that means I just stumble on titles that happen to be in the right place at the right time when I go to the bookstore.

And ringShout is on Facebook - go, writers, go!

Black History Month - what's on the table

One night in February, while wandering at my local Barnes and Noble, I saw a table marked "Black History Month."

The vast majority of the titles on the table were urban fiction.

I will admit right now that I am a literary snob. I read all kinds of books, some that could even be called trashy, but when I think about highlighting authors for a heritage celebration, the 'Round the Way Girl kind of titles just do not make the list.

[I really hope that is not the title of someone's actual book - I really just did throw that out for the sake of making the point. And there's nothing wrong with being and around-the-way girl.]

Anyway. The two titles on the table that were not "urban" or "ghetto" lit were a title by Nathan McCall (which could be urban in that it deals with the city, but that would be a whole lot of books, wouldn't it) and a novel by Zora Neale Hurston. [Yes, I should have taken notes, but did not.]

I should have lodged a little protest, but did not. Shame on me.

I am still flabbergasted that there's a manager or buyer or someone at the company who thinks that the hustler/gangsta/golddigga titles can make a Black History Month display.

How does that happen? I would have thought that the company would send a list of stores of recommended titles. But perhaps it's done store by store.

Still, it was disappointing. And no, it wasn't like the hoax in Coral Gables with a monkey title next to Obama books. This was an entire table - more than a faux stocker could handle without being noticed.

One upside, though - my kids weren't with me to peruse the titles. :|

A new book from an old favorite, other links

Paule Marshall has a new book out - it's a memoir. Here's the review in the NYTimes.

The book, Triangular Road, is a memoir about writing and finding her voice in the triangle formed by Barbados, Africa and Brooklyn. I read Brown Girl, Brownstones in college, where I was just beginning to learn about the connections from the U.S. to the Caribbean and Africa.

That triangle has been very important in my own thinking about my places in the world, so I'm excited about hearing what Paule Marshall has to say. She's on tour, she's 79 and still writing.

Wonderful.

I'm falling in serious like with ...

Literary Obama, a blog about all things literary related to the Obama family. A wonderful idea, the blog is edited by a literature professor in South Carolina - making me even more interested, since I'm an OCG - Original Carolina Girl.

The Practicing Writing blog. I need all the tips and updates on practicing as I can get. So I try to check it daily. Nope, it's not African American - just writing. Still applies.

A recent invite I received to a baby shower - with a request for books by and about African American, Caribbean and African girls and women. I can't go to the shower, but I can't wait to buy the books for this baby's library. I have lots of ideas, but if you've heard of something really new and cool featuring "us" please send a note ...

Quick links

Just a few quick links today. I have a deadline tomorrow and must sleep in between.

Condi Rice has a three-book deal with Crown.

The Dallas Morning News has a story about the integration of the NFL. The reporter mentions a book, Outside the Lines, by Dr. Charles Ross (his name is incorrect in the article), director of African American studies at the University of Mississippi.

Evelyn White, author of Alice Walker: A Life, will speak at the University of Texas at Austin on March 11. She is also going to lead a creative writing workshop. I'd love to be able to hear her. The biography was amazing.

Here's a story about the Coretta Scott King awards for children's literature. It mentions some new middle-grade titles featuring African American or biracial characters.

Resources on kids lit

A couple of years ago, a friend mentioned to me that 80 percent of her son's books featured African American characters. My own children's bookshelves were not nearly that diverse. This gave me pause because I had not done nearly as good a job as seeking out books for my children. They have (and had) hundreds of books, but I had not made the extra effort to diversify.

So I began to do it. And now, at the library and in book stores, I pick up books featuring African Americans, even when they don't. So our collection looks better and they see themselves in more books. But I'm always looking for more. Now, particularly, chapter books for my oldest child that feature boys of African descent.

He has read quite a few nonfiction titles about us, including titles that talk about slavery. So he knows about slavery and segregation.

Now I've found a list of some of the slavery titles in kids literature. Here's a link to that list from Carol Hurst's web site.

Review - land

As usual, Black/African American History Month is a hot one for books by and about "us." Every year this makes me a little sad, a little angry. I still want to know about the books, I want them to be published and read, but does it all have to happen in this month. What would be the harm in spreading the publishing love a bit?

end vent, begin links ...

Here is a 2 - in - 1 review of two new books about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One that is an analysis of the "I Have a Dream Speech," by Eric J. Sundquist, the other, Through It All, by Christine King Farris, Dr. King's sister.

Two professors at Emory University have a new book, "Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus," that explores the tragic exhibition in life and death of a an African woman in the 1800s. Here's a review from the Los Angeles Times.

A handful of kid lit links

A few links to round out the week.

A CSMonitor review of Chains, by Laure Halse Anderson.

Here is the description of the book from Simon and Schuster's web site:
If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl?

As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifher sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom.

From acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson comes this compelling, impeccably researched novel that shows the lengths we can go to cast off our chains, both physical and spiritual.

Check out Brothers & Sisters, a collection of poems about family, by Eloise Greenfield.

The bloggers at The Brown Bookself are again doing 28 days featuring authors/illustrators of African-American kids lit. I have already seen authors I haven't heard of before. I think my kids will be getting some new titles soon.

Also, at the top of the blog (may be lower by the time some readers click through) there's an interesting note about whether an author is actually African American.

Friday is for Kids

I should probably come up with a better title for my Friday dip into kids lit. But I haven't yet. Suggestions are welcome in the comments.

One of the most interesting things I read this week was this story in the NYTimes about how a watchdog group has called out Scholastic over their inclusion of electronics, toys, jewelry and other non-book stuff in their catalogs and book fairs at schools.

This is right on the mark. I have one child in elementary school at the moment and have been a volunteer at a school book fair. And seeing all the toys and electronics really has bothered me. The kids can't help but get excited about them, even though they are more expensive than the discount priced books.

It is especially sad to me when I see kids who may not have been sent to school with any money or very little to shop at the book fair and they are picking up toys or electronics that are nearly $20 - when there are $4 books available.

Hopefully they'll pull back on marketing the toys and stick to books, workbooks and activity books. Kids have plenty of ways to see marketing - school is not the place for that.

I'll post some links later today to new books or book lists.

Hearing Tayari Jones

I want to use Thursday as an opportunity to highlight an author or a book blog. But I'm cheating a bit today by writing about a recent reading I attended.

The author reading was Tayari Jones, who is one of my favorite contemporary authors. I write about her - and link to her site, www.tayarijones.com/blog, a lot, so it feels like cheating to highlight her today.

But it is my little blog after all.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to check her appearances calendar in case she was coming to Florida. It seems rare that any of the authors I love come near my home, so it was really just a little hopeful check. Turns out she was going to be in a town about an hour away the very next week.

So of course I went.

She read at Stetson University in Deland, Florida. It's a small, private college. I've never been to the campus, but I think I've been through the town once before.

The event was full - students there get a "cultural credit" for certain events, which is cool. I sat in the back because I got lost and was a few minutes late. [College campuses can really be tricky if you're not a part of the student/faculty/staff there - signs, people!]

She read from The Untelling first. I haven't read it in years, but was really pulled in as she read a scene that involves sibling rivalry, a red velvet cake, a terrible accident and women who can stop traffic. I'm always surprised when, aurally, I lose the author and really hear her as the characters at a reading. That was the case with Tayari Jones - she was the character and I really wanted to go back and read The Untelling again.

Tayari next read a story she wrote for a contest that required the work to be three minutes long. It was wonderful and fun and really was a story. I am amazed by short stories that are that short.

Tayari was wonderful - the creative, sassy and intellectual spirit really shines in her.

And I was fortunate enough to introduce myself to her, chat a bit and have a picture taken with her. I've "friended" her on Facebook, but I'm really just a fan, not someone who actually knows her. She was very gracious and kind - and stylish. I was taking notes in case one day I am out there reading from my own work.

Now, here are a few things I found that were odd about the event.

When Tayari finished reading, the organizer stood up and said she'd sign books and that there was food in a side room. There was no attempt to see if there were questions.

It may have been because of the travel arrangements, which I understand. It just seems very unusual for a reading not to have any questions. Of course, I just wanted to hear more from Tayari - next time, I guess.

Also, in the days before the event, on the local NPR station, I heard an add that began with a mention of the university name. I was actually excited in those few seconds, because I thought they were actually advertising Tayari's visit. Cool!

Except they weren't. It was an ad for a Nobel prize winner in the sciences who would be speaking later in the month. I get that a Nobel laureate is a big, big deal. It was just interesting to me that they wouldn't not put the money toward advertising an author's visit. Especially since it seemed the crowd at Tayari's reading was only students and faculty - important and their number one audience, for sure. But it didn't seem like there was a big community contingent- I'm 90% certain of this, but since I didn't poll the group I can't say for sure.

So it was wonderful to meet her. I hope she'll come back to my area of Florida - or anywhere in Florida, soon.

Kids Lit for Friday

My hope for Fridays is that I'll feature a children's author or book site on Friday.

Why Friday? Well for my family, that has been a big library day for us. Our branch has story time on Fridays and I like for my older reader to have some additional books to get through the weekend. And since he sometimes finishes books while I'm still in the parking lot (I am really not exaggerating), it's always good to stock up.

Today, I found the micro-site for Scholastic's Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life contest. It's based on the life of Jackie Robinson and is geared for students in 4th - 8th grades. Here's the link.

Reviews not found

I really should be posting some reviews today, but I didn't find any and the hour is late.

I will mention that I'm excitehttp://bookcritics.org/news/archive/2008_nbcc_finalists_announced/d that the NBCC has a biography of Ida B. Wells and the book about the Hemings family on their final award list.

Both will go on my to-read list. 2009, here we come.

Author/Blog spotlight

Like many folks, I've been off in inauguration land and am just now winding back to real life. Believe it or not, I still have inauguration-related things taped for later viewing. Just can't get enough.

But, just like the president, I have to get to work!

Thursday is Author/Blog spotlight day. Eventually, I hope to include some interviews or even guest blogs on Thursday for the spotlight. Until then, I will just pick and choose and write what I want ;).

Today's pick: Ravi Howard, author of Like Trees Walking.
Why him?: Because he was recently named the 2008 winner of the Ernest Gaines award for his novel.

I haven't yet read it, but have heard much about it and this award is the one that tips it. I'll get a copy soon.

Howard is a native of Alabama - and Southerners hold a dear place in my heart - a graduate of Howard University, and is surprisingly, one of the few male authors that I have heard about repeatedly over the last few years.

I'm not saying Black men aren't publishing or writing great work - they're just not being talked up, I think.

About the book:

When the phone rang at the home of Paul and Roy Deacon in the early morning hours, it often meant that someone had died. The brothers’ family owned the Deacon Memorial Funeral Home and had buried the loved ones of Mobile’s black families for over 100 years. On the morning of March 21, 1981, the call was different. The body of nineteen-year-old Michael Donald was found hanging from a tree on Herndon Avenue. The murder shook the citizens of Mobile, Alabama, especially the Deacon brothers. They had called Michael Donald a friend.



As the brothers navigate their teen years, they face familiar rites of passage; prom night, graduation, college life, but the family business forces them to confront the rites death brings, passages from this world to the next. As Roy and Paul Deacon search for solace, their journeys take them from church sanctuaries to cemeteries, protest marches to courtrooms, from the tree-lined streets of Mobile to the dark beach roads on the Eastern Shore.



Added to the grief of a murdered friend, the brothers and their hometown face the first lynching in over sixty years. Mobile had been as peaceful as its tree-lined streets were beautiful, but the murder gave the city its own sad chapter in the Alabama racial history. Like Birmingham’s four little girls, Selma’s Bloody Sunday, and Tuskegee’s experiment, Mobile had the murder of Michael Donald.



In this riveting debut, Like Trees, Walking explores a fictional aftermath of a true story that will both haunt and illuminate. The novel examines death, faith, truth, and justice, elements that often intersect and at times collide. An old tale set in modern times, Like Trees, Walking explores the complexities and the promises of America’s New South.

Friday for Kids

As I try out a new schedule for organizing posts, I've decided Friday should be for kids literature/books. If memory serves, many children's books featuring children, adults of African descent come out during January and February for the six weeks that is the King holiday and Black History Month. I'll feature some of the new titles here.

The Los Angeles Times has a round up story about the new books out about President-elect Barack Obama, including editions updated to show he won the election and is the 44th president. I'm particularly interested in the biographies for older kids.

Michelle Kerns of Examiner.com shares her three top books about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

And finally, here's a site I found just this week, Brown Sugar and Spice Books. They feature books for us and focus on titles that are reality-based, rather than fantasy. I saw lots of books that I'd seen elsewhere (Obama books and others) as well as interesting titles that were new to me.

Author/Blog spotlight

In an effort to bring some order and consistency to my posting here, I'm going to try having a different theme for each day of the work week. Hopefully that will give me an easy way to get into topics and share content about some of the writers, books, publishing companies and other bookish things here.

So Thursday is author or blog spotlight day. I picked Black Threads in Kids Lit because I was searching for something else kids-book related. (The other search is not a secret, it's just that my middle-aged mind can't remember how I go there!).

Of the few posts I read, I enjoyed the blog. As a mother of two African American children, I'm always interested in books that interest them and feature people who look like us. Especially chapter books, as we're in that zone now.

There's a good post up top on the blog that is taking a guess at which books will be picked as Coretta Scott King award winners or finalists. There were a few books that I hand't seen or heard of, like March On! and Brand New Day, Brand New Ruby.

So this one goes in my bookmarks.

African American memoir

The New York Times reviewed The Black Girl Next Door, by Jennifer Baszile. It's about her growing up in an exclusive, all-white community in the 70s and 80s. She's a frequent first-er (first black student body president, first black female professor of history at Yale).

It sounds interesting to me. I did not grow up with that kind of privilege. And though they don't have that level of wealth, my children are already in several "only" situations.

So I'm likely to check it out.

My only hesitation is that it seems this story has really been done over and over again. What does she add that's new? [And the NYTimes review isn't particularly favorable, btw.]

On another note, I really like Carleen Brice's new blog, White Readers Meet Black Authors. I'm definitely not white, but am getting good recommendations from her site. I just finished her book, Orange Mint and Honey, this month and LOVED it. I'll try to pull together a review soon, I think it's a book that deserves attention.

Poetry, Obama shelf, vacation reading

There will be a poet reading at the inauguration. It gets better every day. I am going to have to get a working television by Jan. 19!

The poet is Elizabeth Alexander. She's African American and a professor at Yale. Her parents took her to the march on Washington in 1963. Beautiful.

Poetry is not my top reading choice. I've been bumping into poetry a lot lately, so it's time I integrated it into my reading. And I certainly can't wait to hear what she'll read.

I was in Books a Million last week and noticed a whole end shelf of Obama titles. Most I had not seen before, including two about Michelle Obama. They are a cottage industry right now. Hopefully it will give the book business a boost.

And, I'm working on a list of books to read over the holiday break. I'll post it if I enjoy them.

The boost of rejection

I had an unexpected boost today.

I received a rejection note - and it brought me a little smile rather than doom.

Typically I go for months and sometimes years without submitting anything. I cycle down into no one would want to read/publish what I write, so why bother to write at all doldrums.

I have submitted one or two things lately and this was a rejection of one. It would have felt better to have my pitch accepted - but it was a great reminder that I had written the pitch, put it out there and at least gone through the process.

There are probably scores of rejections out in the universe just waiting for me to send more things out for consideration.

Among them are acceptances as well.

I have work to do.