Black Issues Book Review back issues from March 2001:
Tenderheaded: A Comb-Bending Collection of Hair Stories.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Tenderheaded: A Comb-Bending Collection of Hair Stories edited by Juliette Harris & Pamela Johnson Pocket Books, December 2000, $25.95 ISBN 0-671-04755-8 Hang on to your horse hair, 100% human hair, relaxed, natural, dreadlocked or hot combed tresses. It's time to get down to ...
Spotlight: Nikki Giovanni.
Mar 01, 2001; ... http://athena.english.vt.edu/Giovanni/home.html It's not nikkigiovanni.com--a misfortune--and it's still in construction, but I say, click on this! The site promises to be comprehensive, already boasting Giovanni's curriculum vitae, honorary degrees, selected poetry, children's ...
How to Make Black America Better.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... How to Make Black America Better Edited by Tavis Smiley Doubleday, January 2001, $21.95, ISBN 0-385-50214-1 Noted talk-show host and outspoken businessman Tavis Smiley brings to his wide audience a new book, filled with sound suggestions on how to establish and sustain the good ...
Black Roots: A Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Black Roots: A Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree by Tony Burroughs Fireside, February 2001, $16.00 ISBN 0-689-87909-3 My late Aunt Grace said that every black family needs their own history book. This easy-to-use, easy-to-read guide simplifies a ...
Of poets and best-seller lists ...
Mar 01, 2001; ... Welcome to BIBR's third annual homage to poetry of the African Diaspora. We broke ground placing Saul Williams--performance poet and star of the award-winning film Slam--on the cover of our inaugural poetry issue. We paired venerable poet Sonia Sanchez with rapper Mos Def on our second, ...
Phenomenal Women, Everyday Poets.(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... My late mother and her sisters, like her mother and her sisters before her, were all teachers. They were black women with deep roots in the rural American South and a fierce commitment not only to literacy, but also to maintaining cultural traditions of vivid talk and oral storytelling. I ...
letters to the editor.
Mar 01, 2001 ... DEAR EDITOR, I read with great interest your article, "Black Like Who?" (Jan/Feb 2001). In my collection of essays, "The Rejected American," I pointed out that it is around the one-drop rule that the biggest amount of winking and nodding has occurred in this country. That's one ...
Hot Johnny and the Women Who Loved Him.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Hot Johnny and the Women Who Loved Him by Sandra Jackson-Okopu Ballantine/One World, January 2001, $24,00, ISBN 0-345-42896-X In the eyes of the women who have had the good fortune--or misfortune, depending on your age or build--to experience "Hot Johnny" right up close and ...
Voodoomation: The Book of Foretelling.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Voodoomation: The Book of Foretelling by Garfield Linton Karu Press, November 2000, $9.95, ISBN 0-971-2690-5 "I'm at the bottom of Hilltop 412. Every morning I'm at the bottom of this hill." So goes the poetic, chant-like opening of the first story, "Hilltop 412" in Linton's ...
Breathing Room.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Breathing Room by Patricia Elam Pocket Books, January 2001, $24.95, ISBN 0-671-02842-1 Patricia Elam creates an immediate and lasting connection with the reader through thought-provoking characters, seamless transitions and a plot that makes you eager to turn the page. Combining ...
The Dying Ground.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... The Dying Ground by Nichelle Tramble Villard, January 2001, $14.95, ISBN 0-375-75653-1 Tramble's first novel delves into murder, revenge, drugs, violence, secrets and unrequited love. Set in Oakland in the late 80s, the story takes readers into the life of Maceo Albert Bouchaund ...
The Warmest December.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... The Warmest December by Bernice Mc Fadden Dutton, February 2001, $22.95, ISBN 0-525-94564-4 Sitting beside her dying father's hospital bed, Kenzie Lowe realizes hate is as transient an emotion as love. When she needs it most, hate has deserted her. In its place is an empty ache ...
Romance ...(Bibliography)
Mar 01, 2001 ... Love is full bloom this Spring ... pick up the hottest recent romantic fiction so you don't miss out! Always by Timothy B. McCann Avon Books, August 2000, $13.00, ISBN 0-380-80597-9 Three people face an historic night alone, each one recalls dreams of yesterday and the promise ...
Brown Sugar.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Brown Sugar by Carlo Taylor Plume Books, January 2001, $13.00, ISBN 0-452-28224-1 "Night, soft belly of a blues goddess," from Jabari Asim's, "Rocket Love," exemplifies the sensuous symphony of erotic word-songs orchestrated by editor, Carol Taylor. The varied and consistently ...
Fire in Beulah.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Fire in Beulah by Rilla Askew Viking, January 2001, $, ISBN 0-670-88843-5 Askew has crafted a gripping drama, infusing this novel with the rich details of human dilemmas--greed, power, secrecy, sibling rivalry. Althea Dedmeyer has escaped a difficult childhood and marries an oil ...
Gabriel's Story.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Gabriel's Story by David Anthony Durham Doubleday, January 2001 $23.95, ISBN 0-385-49814-4 It is hard to find an African American protagonist prominently featured and favorably depicted in a book about the American West. Durham's new book resonates with historical values and ...
High Hand.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... High Hand by Gary Phillips Kensington, November 2000, $22.00 ISBN 1-575-66616-2 Martha Chainey is no Christie Love. She is however, an ex-show girl who packs a pistol and tussles with the mob. Chainey is the protagonist in Phillips' swift moving tale about a woman who is chosen ...
Paradise Interrupted.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Paradise Interrupted by Penny Mickelbury Simon & Schuster, Feb. 2001, $23.00, ISBN 0-684-85591-2 Penny Mickelbury's latest edition in the Carole Ann Gibson mystery series, deftly draws the tangled social and political ties of a fictious Carribean island, Isle de Paix. A thinly ...
Reinventing the Woman.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Reinventing the Woman by Patty Rice Simon and Schuster, January 2001, $23.00, ISBN 0-684-85341-8 Lies, deceit, mystery and blackmail are some of the elements for a good novel. Throw in a crisis or two and it usually adds up to a bestseller. Rice has worked all of these elements ...
Do Unto Others.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Do Unto Others by Kristin Lattany Ballantine, January 2000, $24.00, ISBN 0-345-40708-3 In her latest novel, Lattany tells the tale of a talented sista attempting to deal with her own success as well as the jealousy, deceit and heartache that comes along with caring for a ...
The Haunting of Hip Hop.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... The Haunting of Hip Hop by Bertice Berry Doubleday, January 2001, $21.00, ISBN 0-385-48745-4 One of the most beautifully begun books I've read in recent memory, Berry uses a clever idea and well-drawn, sympathetic characters to tell a story that, in the end, may leave readers ...
Temptation.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Temptation by Victoria Christopher Murray Walk Worthy Press, September 2000 $19.95, ISBN 0-446-52792 Victoria Christopher Murray, an editor with BIBR, is now the latest breakout success in the growing field of Christian fiction. Her new novel takes a look at life and love from a ...
Brutal Imagination.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Brutal Imagination by Cornelius Eady Putnam, January 2001, $13.00 ISBN 0-399-14720-9 Eady's two-fold collection, laced with strokes of brilliance, is a survey of the inordinate place of black manhood in white America's mind. The first section, rendered in four parts, is a ...
Jazz from the Haiku King.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Jazz from the Haiku King by James Emanuel Broadside Press, 1999, $8.50, ISBN 0-940-71314-4 Elder, poet and scholar, James Emanuel, obviously loves his music. Judging by his latest collection of poetry, Emanuel also fully understands its aesthetics, and the culture and history ...
New and Notable from Poets Doin' it For Themselves.(African American self-published titles)
Mar 01, 2001 ... The tradition of independently publishing poetry is long and illustrious in our community. Many young poets are taking up the torch and putting out their work, to wide public acclaim. Here are a few recent titles to help you celebrate National Poetry Month--and black business! ...
Fast Cities and Objects That Burn.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Fast Cities and Objects That Burn by Sharrif Simmons Moore Black Press, 1999, $12.00, ISBN 0-965-83082-9 I first came to know Simmons' poetry as spoken word on the Brooklyn poetry scene in the mid-90s. And it is these dimly lit coffee house contexts that come to mind as I read ...
Mecurochrome.(Review)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Mecurochrome by Wanda Coleman Black Sparrow Press, March 2001 $35.00, ISBN 1-574-23155-3 Despite the abundant intelligence presiding over these poems, there is no lack of heart in Wanda Coleman's latest book. The title alludes to the healing powers of her craft, but it is ...
Same Trip, Different Ships.(Dominican authors and African Americans)(Interview)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Authors Julia Alvarez, Junot Diaz and Loida Maritza Perez talk about their distinctive Dominican heritage and their common cultural roots with African Americans "Community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist ...
Design Femmes noires.(African American designers)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... A precious few books document how black women have left their mark on architecture, corporate and residential interiors, multimedia and print graphics, fashion, consumer products and packaging, and more ... Black women have always been designers. It's just that the world at ...
Soul Style: Black Women Redefining the Color of Fashion.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... SoulStyle: Black Women Redefining the Color of Fashion by Duane Thomas Universe Publishing, April 2000, $45.00, ISBN 0-789-30466-X When you hear the names Mary J. Blige, Patti LaBelle and Ella Fitzgerald, does it bring to mind scintillating images of these dynamic divas? What ...
Black Beauty: A History and Celebration.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Black Beauty: A History and Celebration by Ben Arogundade Avalon, September 2000, $39.95, ISBN 1-560-25276-6 The Jazz Age, Prohibition and the Harlem Renaissance are terms associated with the 1920s. However, more than black musicians, writers, and bathtub gin were in vogue then ....
Women Designers in the USA, 1900-2000: Diversity and Difference.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Women Designers in the USA, 1900-2000. Diversity and Difference edited by Pat Kirkham Yale University Press in association with Bard Graduate Center, January 2001 $80.00, ISBN 0-300-08734-99-9 Kirkham celebrates the contributions of women designers in a wide range of design ...
In Defense of SLAM! Nation.(slam poetry)
Mar 01, 2001; ... What could be more Afrocentric than poetry in performance given our strong oral/aural traditions? A report on diversity in spoken-word art today Just as there are some who don't think rap is music, there are writers who don't think slam is poetry. Detractors announce that slam ...
The Fascinating Foremothers of Destiny's Child.(Motown women musicians)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Telling the stories of the dozens of talented sisters, besides The Supremes in their prime, who gave us the glorious Motown Era Just as February's Black History Month can't do justice to the contributions of people of African descent, neither can March's Women's History Month do ...
The Murder of Biggie Smalls.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... The Murder of Biggie Smalls by Cathy Scott Knopf, November 2000, $65.00, ISBN 0-312-26620-0 The murder of Biggie Smalls, aka "Notorious B.I.G." hit many in the hip hop community like Marvin Gaye's murder shocked the R&B community: the loss of a budding career and a talented man ...
Take Me To the River.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Take Me To the River by Al Green with Davis Seay William Morrow/Harper Collins, September 2000, $25.00, ISBN 0-380-97622-6 Al Green has taken what has become an all too familiar story of growing up dirt poor, without any financial or emotional support, and going on to become a ...
Soul in them there Hills.
Mar 01, 2001; ... Affrilatian artists take their stand as a school of black poets from the Kentucky foothills Sometime during the Fall of 1991, a literary event was held at the University of Kentucky, called The Best of Southern Writing, featuring four white Kentucky authors and one African ...
We Will Be Heard!
Mar 01, 2001; ... Modern African-born women writers continue to produce sophisticated narrative art even without the attention and acclaim they deserve. Third in a continuing BIBR series about literature from the African continent. The theme of the 1999 Zimbabwe International Book Fair, "Women's ...
Coming to Birth.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Coming to Birth by Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, December 2000, $30.00, ISBN 1-558-61253-X When it was first published in 1986, Coming to Birth earned Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye the Sinclair Prize in recognition of a novel of social ...
History, Hair-story, Her-story.
Mar 01, 2001; ... What TV journalist-turned-biographer A'Lelia Bundles discovered about her celebrated foremother, hair-care enterpreneur and philantrophist Madam C. J. Walker and herself One of A'Lelia Bundles' favorite childhood adventures in the 1950s was going to work with her mother, the ...
Literary Motherland.(www.timbooktu.com)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... TimBookTu, www.timbooktu.com, is a Mobile, Alabama-based web site created in 1996 by its editor, Memphis Vaughn Jr., after a disappointing search for sites that featured African American works as well as interaction with writers. "At the time, I was already delving into web development, so ...
Online Booksellers.
Mar 01, 2001; ... Eyeing eBooks Don't blink or you might miss something. Everyone's talking about eBooks, for good reason. First, Fatbrain.com developed Mightywords.com, where readers and writers can buy, sell, and publish written content, called eMatter. Hailed by self-published authors, the ...
Search Engines that Share Your Cyber World.(www.blackwebportal.com)(www.afroroots.com)(www.blackvue.com)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Looking for information on African American publishers? Or maybe you're searching for your favorite author's website? Try these on-point African American search engines, complete with Arts and Humanities sections. The Black Web Portal, ...
Just for Kids!
Mar 01, 2001; ... Jump at the Sun on Dysney.com Clickable? Yes. But if you return, you may be disappointed. There are loads to offer on this site. You and you child can learn Swahili words together, you can hear audio book excerpts and read about featured books. But when you return the ...
A Black Women's Oasis for Reading and Empowerment.(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... How D.C's seven-year Sisterspace & Books has evolved into a community resource center "Once you walk in, you can't leave," says Shireen Mitchell. Indeed, visitors to Sisterspace and Books in Washington, D.C., immediately realize they are in a special place. There are books on ...
Calculating African American Bestsellers.
Mar 01, 2001; ... Essence magazine constructs a panel of independent black booksellers to chart a new bestseller list The arcane business of tracking African American book sales has attracted new interest in recent months, with a proliferation of new best-seller lists and related offerings. ...
21st-Century Homage to Djeli Crafstmanship.
Mar 01, 2001; ... Sekou Sundiata's organic free verse on CD reflects both traditional African roots and postmodernist vision Poet and New School Professor Sekou Sundiata has been crafting poems for four decades. He began honing his skills during the Black Arts Movement, continued through ...
Maya A Precious Prism.
Mar 01, 2001; ... As a poet and personality, Maya Angelou always commands that we expect the world! It is entirely fitting that the month in which Maya Angelou celebrates her birthday--April--is also National Poetry Month. On April 4, she turns 73. In 1993, she was acknowledged as a treasured ...
Give the Poets Some.(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Three contemporary poets whose work deserve our props When I teach black poetry, I generally start by asking my students if they, or anyone in their family, has bought a book of black poetry in the last six months. When no hands go up I add six months and keep adding time until ...
Talking Dirty to The Gods.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Talking Dirty to The Gods by Yusef Komunyakaa Farrar, Straus and Giroux, September 2000, $23.00, ISBN 0-374-27255-7 In his latest collection of poetry Komunyakaa offers readers a complex series of ruminations on the expansive ecology of human life. In an awesome feat, he ...
Affrilachia.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Affrilachia by Frank X. Walker Old Cove Press, January 2000, $12.50, ISBN 0-9675424-0-5 Tilling the soil of collective memory, Walker yields poems in homage to the cultural presence of black folk in Appalachia. Readers across the country, and in Walker's native Kentucky, will ...
Deals.(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Disney Publishing Worldwide has split it's children's book division into two groups, both of which will be headed by African American women. Andrea Davis Pinkney, formerly the executive editor of Disney/Hyperion's successful imprint for African American children's books, Jump at the Sun, ...
Langston's Buddha Smile.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... The Harlem Renaissance bard always celebrated black America's joy as well as our resistance Reading Langston Simple's Uncle Sam by Langston Hughes Hill & Wang, May 2000, $13.00 ISBN 0-809-08681-6 Sometimes while walking alongside a river or lake I feel a ...
on the shelf.(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Poetry saved my life. Putting together this year's poetry issue brought up old memories of sitting cross-legged on the floor of the school library, with a stack of poetry books in my lap as I discovered the greats of the Black Arts Movement, who helped give me a context for my own ...
Following the Footsteps of Nikki, Maya and Sonia.
Mar 01, 2001; ... Readings are a key marketing tool for poets who put themselves in print There is absolutely no doubt that self-publishing is a challenging, exhilarating, demanding, inspiring endeavor. But when you try self-publishing poetry, you've tripled the challenges. It's a well-known ...
Dear Dr. Rosie.
Mar 01, 2001; ... Dear Dr. Rosie: I am a fiction writer. I've consulted with a publishing packaging company to assist me with publishing my book. They said that my book is good, but it needs to be story edited and copy edited. Why do I need to pay for two edits? Which is most important? ...
The Author-Book Club Connection.(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... How to tap into new websites, contact lists and other strategies At Journey's End Literary Club, great reads come in small packages and the parcels are plenty. In just two years, this North Carolina reading group received eighty-nine books from authors and publicists trying to ...
Black Queens of the Tennis Court.(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... From Althea and Zina to Venus and Serena The Williams sisters' ascent to the top of the tennis world is a pale reminder of how few African American women have been on the professional tennis tour. But still greater than the achievements of Venus and Serena, despite sexism, ...
Chamique: On Family, Focus, and Basketball.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Chamique: On Family, Focus, and basketball by Chamique Holdsclaw with Jennifer Frey Scribner, September 2000, $18.00, ISBN 07-432-0220-1 WNBA's Washington Mystics have a star player in Chamique Holdsclaw. An All-American basketball player in both high school and college, ...
Salvation: Black People and Love.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Salvation: Black People and Love by bell hooks Morrow, William & Co., January 2001 $22.00, ISBN 0-060-18494-9 From the book's title, it might appear to the uninitiated that bell hooks has added to the never-ending stream of self-help books on inner healing or religious ...
Self-Published Nonfiction.(Bibliography)
Mar 01, 2001 ... Eyes of Faith by Terrance Johnson 7-Fold Publishing, October 2000, $15.00, ISBN 0-966-79382-X Malcolm Johnson's life is a living social commentary, Sunday school lesson, and sports documentary. One Good Woman Come and Gone by Robert Gamble Chicago Spectrum ...
Voices in Our Blood.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Voices in Our Blood Edited by Jon Meacham Random House, January 2001, $29.95, ISBN 0-679-46296-1 Without question, the civil rights movement was one of the most significant periods in American history. Meacham's new book, which pays homage to the period, is a compilation of work ...
From the Old School to the New.(Bibliography)
Mar 01, 2001 ... Recent notable releases from the university presses A First Draft of History: Ted Poton edited by Kathleen A. Hauke University of Georgia Press, October 2000, $29.95, ISBN 0-820-32239-3 Big Men, Little People: The Leaders Who Define Africa by Alex Russell New York ...
Homecoming.(Review)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Homecoming Charlene Gilbert and Quinn Eli Beacon Press, July 2000, $30.00 ISBN 0-807-00962-8 Pangs of anxiety and dread raced through my body and mind prior to cracking the covers of Gilbert and Eli's new book about African American farmers. Upon opening the covers to read it, I ...
Talk Stories.(Review)(Brief Article)
Mar 01, 2001; ... Talk Stories by Jamaica Kincaid Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, December 2000, $23.00 ISBN 0-374-27239-5 This collection of short pieces written by Jamaica Kincaid during her time at The New Yorker from 1974 to 1983 is more than just an assemblage of stylish, highly personalized ...