After a month of celebrating and exploring the lives, contributions and struggles of black people, it is only appropriate that we highlight the literary gifts of black people from around the globe. Check out these recent titles that celebrate the diversity and commonality of all of our experiences. What We All Long For By Dionne…

Cultural observer James Baldwin once compared love to a battle; he also said that love is growing up. Writer Zora Neale Hurston said it “makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place,” while poet Nikki Giovanni declared it an adventure. Novelist Harriet Wilson called love an “arbitrary and inexorable tyrant.” Me? I think it…

Books are fool-proof gifts. Not just because they virtually last forever, unlike that fruitcake or sweater that shrinks after one wash, but also because they’re affordable in these tough economic times. And, just think, you can take care of everyone on your list with one trip to your local bookstore. That alone should relieve some…

I hear it all the time. In coffee shops. On panels lamenting the decline in reading. In educational centers. On the street. While out with friends. There aren’t any good books published anymore. While there may be slight truths in this rather sweeping generalization, I think the problem lies more in the fact that great…

I’ve boycotted Father’s Day for longer than I can remember. In content rebellion, I’d refuse to telephone my father and would avoid his call when he pined for my gratitude. I’d reject any urges to select and purchase hideous neckties or other unnecessary gifts. I’d dismiss images of sitting around a bountiful dinner table honoring…