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Is the Coretta Scott King Book Award Racist?
There’s talk in the literary blogosphere surrounding the Coretta Scott King Book Award. The reason for the debate: some folk think it’s racist. My first reaction: are they serious? Unfortunately, they are. A little background: The CSK was founded by two school librarians and is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year. In 1982, the American…
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Is the White House's Poetry Jam Good for Poetry?
With the news that the First Family is hosting a Poetry Jam (not slam, as has been cleared up by Social Secretary Desiree Rogers) at the White House tonight, it made me wonder if poetry will benefit from the good press. I’m just saying. Poetry is often treated like the underappreciated stepchild. Publishers ain’t really…
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Former NPR Host Farai Chideya Kisses the Sky
Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Farai Chideya, the former host of NPR’s “News and Notes,” remixes the badass trifecta in her debut novel “Kiss the Sky,” a tale of a former rock star whose constant search for happiness in all the wrong places brings her to discover the power within.Chideya opened up to Books…
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E-Race Literature
Are you Black or Post-Black? The world of books has always offered insight into race matters in this country. Couple that with the internet and there’s a lot to talk about. Earlier this week author and critic, Touré reviewed Colson Whitehead’s new book “Sag Harbor” for the New York Times Book Review. And as ringShout…
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Remembering Mama
“Mama knew love like the back roads, used to fall asleep daily in her work clothes.” I love that line from Anthony Hamilton’s song, “Mama Knew Love,” because it’s dead-on in describing the extraordinary strength of mothers. But as I continue into my own adulthood, I also realize that the line hints to the extreme…
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Creating in the Shadows: A Talk with Nelson George
“I identify more with Nick Carraway now than I did when I was younger,” Nelson George says about the observant character from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Carraway captured George’s attention when he was a nerdy adolescent growing up in Queens, a fact he recalls in his new memoir City Kid, which chronicles his…
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Staceyann Chin Talks The Other Side of Paradise
There are many remarkable things about Staceyann Chin’s new memoir, The Other Side of Paradise. But what has hit me the strongest is the bold reminder that you never know what someone has been through. I remember seeing her perform on Broadway for Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam. She was strong, defiant, and crazy-talented. But…
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If I Ruled (The Literary) World
It’s hard out here for authors these days. You really can’t be just an author. In order to support yourself—because, let’s be honest, most book advances only go so far—you have to be writer, teaching artist, lecturer, hustler, marketing guru, business owner and grant junkie. And when you do get a chance to write, you’re…
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Why Don’t You Follow Me? Authors on Twitter
Twitter is the most recent Web phenomenon to prove that even the stupidest of ideas can be transformed into marketing brilliance. Many who left MySpace for Facebook have now graduated to Twitter, the new Internet time-waster of choice. Twitter is a free service that allows users to tell what they are doing in 140 characters.…
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If We Ruled the (Literary) World
It’s hard out here for authors these days. You really can’t be just an author. In order to support yourself—because, let’s be honest, most book advances only go so far—you have to be writer, teaching artist, lecturer, hustler, marketing guru, business owner and grant junkie. And when you do get a chance to write, you’re…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
