Black Issues Book Review articles from July 2003

Black Issues Book Review archives from July 2003

From the editor-in-chief.(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... Late in 1997, I noticed a development I believed would become a permanent phenomenon--books by authors of African descent and books about black life and culture were flying off the shelves. At that time I had already been a magazine publisher...

The choices of summer. (executive editor's view).(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... For some of us, satisfying our curiosity about what others are reading brings almost as much pleasure as figuring out what books we're going to indulge ourselves with next. Often it's even part of that process. We notice what the person in...

And about those children's books ... (letters to the editor).(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... I was real surprised to see your children's book selections for the May-June 2003 issue. The two books featured at the front of the section, by Alma Powell and Toni Morrison: Those books have no black children in them. They have animals! ...

The editors respond. (letters to the editor).(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... We founded BIBR to cover books by and about people of African descent. Both the Powell and Morrisons' books are by black authors, and we want to cover work by our authors no matter where their creativity leads them. We welcome your feedback on...

First, tell it. (letters to the editor).(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... I agree [with Victoria Christopher Murray, "First, Do No Harm to the Language," SELF-PUBLISHING, May-June 2003], as a writer you must learn your craft. Still, there is no such thing as a perfect writer. I recently read in a book on grammar...

BIBR Correction.(Correction Notice)
July 1, 2003... BIBR regrets the error that appeared in the May-June 2003 CHILDREN'S BOOKSHELF review of Alma Powell's America's Promise. Her husband, Colin Powell, is the U.S. Secretary of State, not Secretary of Defense.

BIBR recommends.
July 1, 2003... Recent books recommended this month by the editors of Black Issues Book Review--the best of what is in this issue and other recent discoveries. Nonfiction: Stagolee Shot Billy by Cecil Brown, Harvard University Press Open Wide the...

Big business at Wiley. (Deals).
July 1, 2003... Big Business at Wiley: Fortune magazine writer Cora Daniels contracted with Wiley & Sons editor Aide Stuart for Black Power Inc., a book about the second wave of African Americans in corporate life. (Recall the 1982 Black Life in Corporate...

Brett Pulley, a Forbes senior editor, represented by Djana Pearson Morris of Adler & Robin Books, Inc., a D.C. literary agency and book packager, signed with Wiley & Sons some months ago for a biography of billionaire BET founder Robert Johnson. (Deals).
July 1, 2003... Brett Pulley, a Forbes senior editor, represented by Djana Pearson Morris of Adler & Robin Books, Inc., a D.C. literary agency and book packager, signed with Wiley & Sons some months ago for a biography of billionaire BET founder Robert...

Future fiction. (Deals).
July 1, 2003... Future fiction: Hip-hop fiction writer Shannon Holmes just signed with Simon and Schuster's Atria Books for his second novel, Bad Girlz, slated for October publication. Holmes's first novel, B-More Careful, was issued by Meow Meow Productions...

Brandon Massey, the author of the self-published 1999 horror novel Thunderland, appears nested with Kensington Publishing Corp., which picked up Massey's first book, revised it and distributed it nationwide last December. (Deals).
July 1, 2003... Brandon Massey, the author of the self-published 1999 horror novel Thunderland, appears nested with Kensington Publishing Corp., which picked up Massey's first book, revised it and distributed it nationwide last December. Kensington editor...

Strong in niche marketing, Kensington's African American component includes early Leslie Esdaile romances. (Deals).
July 1, 2003... Strong in niche marketing, Kensington's African American component includes early Leslie Esdaile romances. The prolific Leslie Esdaile/L.A. Banks/Leslie E. Banks has William Morris agent Manie Barron smiling over their two-book deal with...

Keeping the faith. (Between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry.).
July 1, 2003... PBS will premiere the documentary series This Far by Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys, June 24-26, 2003, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Check local listings.) The program explores the African American religious experience through the past three...

The honor roll. (Between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry).
July 1, 2003... Audiobook Oscars The Audio Publishers Association listed finalists for the Eighth Annual Audie Awards in about 15 categories and tapped several African American contenders for its juried recognition of audio books and spoken-word entertainment....

The notorious B.L.A.I.R. (Between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry).
July 1, 2003... At BIBR's press time, Jayson Blair, the 27-year-old star nonreporter who almost got away with serial plagiarism and fictionalized nonfiction at what has been the world's greatest newspaper, was reportedly shopping his story for a film, a book...

Brenda Wilkinson retired this spring as staff writer with the United Methodist Church's Board of Global Ministries. (Milestones).
July 1, 2003... Brenda Wilkinson retired this spring as staff writer with the United Methodist Church's Board of Global Ministries. Wilkinson, a National Book Award nominee for her 1975 debut novel, Ludell, worked for the church desk for 27 years, moonlighting...

Susan L. Graham has reorganized her agency About Words in Roswell, Georgia, near Atlanta, and is back in business after a hiatus, she says. (Milestones).
July 1, 2003... Susan L. Graham has reorganized her agency About Words in Roswell, Georgia, near Atlanta, and is back in business after a hiatus, she says. In her agency's previous incarnation, Graham handled the wonderful Trouble No More, a prize-winning...

New Dramatists, the nation's oldest nonprofit, drama development workshop, presented August Wilson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, its 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award during a $200-ticket affair at the New York Marriott Marquis in May. (Milestones).
July 1, 2003... New Dramatists, the nation's oldest nonprofit, drama development workshop, presented August Wilson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, its 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award during a $200-ticket affair at the New York Marriott Marquis in May....

The mystery of Oprah's "Classics": no one seems to know what books will hit it big with America's favorite talk-show host this summer--and everybody's interested.
July 1, 2003... Sometime before the end of August, Oprah Winfrey will announce the first book to be featured in her reformatted Oprah's Book Club segment "Traveling With the Classics." Winfrey says she expects to make no more than three to five such selections...

Signings & sightings.
July 1, 2003... ATLANTA, GA E. Lynn Harris will be signing and reading from his latest, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted. July 18, 7:00 P.M. Borders Books & Music 3637 Peachtree Rd. NE 404-237-0707 Author Jill Nelson will be reading...

Sweet harmonies translate to sales: hundreds of vendors gather to market books, CD's and other items to a captive audience of 15,000 at the world's largest gathering of gospel music participants.
July 1, 2003... Gospel lovers are planning a pilgrimage to Florida this summer, to transform the steamy seaside town of Tampa into a music mecca and marketplace like none other in the world. In August, some 15,000 people will be there for the Gospel Music...

Capturing the Christian market: religious booksellers' convention offers chances to network and get your praise on.
July 1, 2003... For 54 years, thousands of Christian bookstore owners, buyers, agents, authors and media representatives have gathered at the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) annual convention. This year, from Saturday, July 12 through Thursday, July...

And the reading is easy ... in summertime, a good book is king of leisure pursuits. (Summer Escapes)(Cover Story).
July 1, 2003... For some of us the pattern was set in childhood, when the school year was for reading whatever the teacher assigned to us. This was reading for education, not edification, though some of it was surprisingly edifying--like the moment our brains...

The next crop of reading pleasures: your favorite writers are at work, and here's what they're up to. (Summer Escapes).
July 1, 2003... Spring may be the season for fresh starts, but many top black writers are using this summer as the time to get new books out, give old characters a new spin or take their work in a new direction. Here's a look at what some authors are up to:...

Kids' stuff: what our children are reading. (Summer Escapes).
July 1, 2003... Many African American parents are encouraging reading from a young age, and children are responding. All across the country, kids are reading--a lot. And while Cinderella and Harry Potter have strong hold on the imaginations of many, African...

"Sister Friends" spread joy; a northern Virginia group finds escape in history and fiction. (books N clubs).
July 1, 2003... Two friends, Deborah Sulton-Brown and Sandi Quash, cofounded Sister Friends Book Club in 1996, to share their love of reading with others. "Many people don't know private joy" says Sulton-Brown. "Reading is an inexpensive and easy way to...

An independent forum for critical black voices: Washington, D.C.-based poet, and journalist Esther Iverem turns Web maven as founder of the two-year-old site SeeingBlack.com. (spotlight).
July 1, 2003... Nowadays anyone with a computer and the time to type can legitimately call themselves an author, a cultural critic or even a publisher by putting their ideas into pixels and posting them on a Website. Sadly, much of the verbose rabble in...

Tony Medina takes a deep breath: poet, teacher and activist walks the 'hood and tells BIBR about his latest work.(Interview)
July 1, 2003... Spanning an eleven-year career marked by his success as a fiercely sought-after poet and a respected artist-activist, Tony Medina's resume reads like the Yellow Pages--seems like he's performed, published and taught everywhere. My copy of...

Committed to Breathing.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Tony Medina, Third World Press May 2003, 10.00, ISBN 0-883-78247-2 we feel everything we smile and wait for our collective recall to coagulate with centuries of rage--From "Diallo" Tony Medina's fifth book of poetry, Committed to...

Online guides for writing the next big-screen hit: this is the first of a three-part series on Websites and technology for writers. (book bytes).
July 1, 2003... This time of year, every Hollywood studio is hoping to be the home of the next summer blockbuster movie. Have you ever dreamed of being the author of that moneymaking script? Now's the time to make your dream a reality. With the help of these...

The Art of Whitfield Lovell: Whispers From the Walls.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... With an essay by Lucy R. Lippard, Pomegranate Communcations, Inc., April 2003 $29.95, ISBN 0-764-92447-8 Whitfield Lovell's drawings and installations are much akin to an open house: In a distinctive and intimate manner, his artwork truly...

Bronzeville: Black Chicago in Pictures, 1941-1943.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Maren Stange The New Press, May 2003 $39.95, ISBN 1-565-84618-4 I am a near-sighted New Yorker. When you live in Harlem, the world-famous black Mecca, sometimes you forget that other big cities also boast a wealth of important African...

The Dawn at My Back: Memoir of a Black Texas Upbringing.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Carroll Parrott Blue University of Texas Press, January 2003 $29.95, ISBN 0-292-70913-7 Was it something in the bottled water, circa 1990, that spawned a decade of tell-all memoirs by folks who had accomplished very little at all but...

The Fabric of Moroccan Life.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Niloo Imami Paydar and Ivo Grammet, General Editors Indianapolis Museum of Art, June 2002 $45.00, ISBN 0-936-26076-9 THROUGHOUT HISTORY, THE ART OF WEAVERS AND the sumptuous textiles they produced have played a valuable role in the cultural...

American Expressionism, Art and Social Change, 1920-1950.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Bram Djikstra, Abrams, May 2003 $60.00, ISBN 0-810-94231-3 AMERICAN EXPRESSIONISM REVEALS AN ENERGETIC era of American art. During the 1920s and through the end of World War II, many American artists turned to the styles of European...

Genesis: Ideas of Origin in African Sculpture.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Yale University Press Alisa LaGamma, November 2002 $30.00, ISBN 0-300-09687-9 ONCE AGAIN, THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF Art in New York City has assembled an impressive collection of artwork based upon the...

The Majesty of African Motherhood.(sculpture exhibition)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... IN BOTH ART AND LITERATURE, THE THEME OF Mother and Child has become an inspiring, rich and cultural role model within the black community for decades. Now African arts' preserver and presenter Herman Bigham and his 12-year-old son, Rameses,...

Frederick J. Brown: Portraits in Jazz, Blues, and other Icons.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Forward by Rachel Blackburn, Essay by Lowery Stokes Sims Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art-Kansas City, Missouri 2002, $20.00, ISBN 1-891246-07-0 PAINTER FREDERICK J. BROWN FOUND GREAT inspiration in everything from African art to German...

The Quotable Musician From Bach to Tupac.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Sheila E. Anderson Allworth Press, March 2003 $19.95, ISBN 1-581-15263-9 Every now and then, you stumble upon a reference book that you just don't want to put down. Sheila E. Anderson's The Quotable Musician: From Bach to Tupac is such...

Ruminations.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by KRS-One Welcome Rain Publishers June 2003 ,$25.00 ISBN 1-566-4974-2 Aptly titled, Ruminations finds KRS-One a.k.a. Kris Parker. mulling over myriad topics, but always through Hiphop (author's spelling), which began as a response against...

Let's talk about sex! Novelist Jill Nelson (Sexual Healing) and cultural critic Tricia Rose (Longing to Tell) compare notes on how today's sisters think and feel about sexuality and intimacy.(Book Review)
July 1, 2003... Neither Jill Nelson nor Tricia Rose had heard about each other's most recent books, both pushing on parallel tracks toward a more authentic vision of what black women want--at least, not until Black Issues Book Review contacted them. For this...

Erotica--his and hers.
July 1, 2003... We all know that men and women are really different, including how they approach the realm of the erotic. When two veteran writers who frequently appear in the pages of Black Issues Book Review each turned up as editors of erotic literature...

Interactive marketing the old-fashioned way: publisher applies contest strategy to sell African American mystery.
July 1, 2003... Who Killed Tiffany Jones?, published under the Amistad imprint, is the first time a major publisher has employed the interactive approach to an African American-interest mystery novel. Hoping to capitalize on an infrequently used but successful...

The first to know: Orlando, Florida, reader wins $10,000 when she figures out who killed Tiffany Jones.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... It was pure serendipity when Woods discovered that her Amazon.com discount certificate was about to expire on the same day she ordered the murder mystery novel Who Killed Tiffany ]ones? online. If the Orlando bibliophile had let the coupon...

Home on my mind: novels about special places in our history. (Fiction).
July 1, 2003... Saving a Black Haven Novelist Kris-fin Lattany mourns the loss of a real Underground Railroad town to a New Jersey highway by Junious Ricardo Stanton Kristin Lattany's delightful fourth novel, The Lakestown Rebellion, first published...

Crawfish Dreams.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Nancy Rawles Doubleday, March 2003 $21.95, USBN 0-385-50418-7 The role that food plays in our communities has long been documented in fiction--in recipes passed down through the generations, as a source of comfort in hard times and as a...

Lita.(Book Review)
July 1, 2003... by Jervy Tervalon Atria Books, July 2003 $24.00, ISBN 0-743-44884-7 After Lita Du Champ receives a 4:00 A.M. phone call summoning her home to New Orleans to her dying father's bedside, she embarks on a life-altering journey to put her...

Getting Mother's Body.(Book Review)
July 1, 2003... By Suzan-Lori Parks Random House, May 2003 $23.95, ISBN 1-400-06022-2 This debut novel by a 2001 MacArthur-genius grantee and 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist (for Topdog/Underdog) is as deceptively short and simple a narrative as a...

Three Days As the Crow Flies.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Danny Simmons Atria Books, June 2003 $24.00, ISBN 0-7434-6640-3 This debut from Danny Simmons, an abstract-expressionist painter and poet, succeeds more as a piece of pulp fiction than as a literary feat. It's an affable yarn about a...

Diary of a Groupie.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Omar Tyree Simon & Schuster, June 2003 $21.00, ISBN 0-743-22867-7 Welcome to the drama-filled world of Tabitha Night, where reality and illusion are one and the same. Such is the life of an attractive woman whose no-strings attached...

For Gold and Glory: Charlie Wiggins and the African-American Racing Car Circuit.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Todd Gould Indiana University Press, February 2003 $27.95, ISBN 0-253-34133-7 This intricately detailed book, a companion to a forthcoming PBS documentary, chronicles the life and career of race-car driver Charlie Wiggins, who, although...

Black Baseball Entrepreneurs 1860-1901: Operating by Any Means Necessary.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Michael E. Lomax, Syracuse University Press, March 2003 $39.95, ISBN 0-8156-0786-5 This is without question the first book to trace the origins of black baseball's institutional development. The author's comprehensive analysis flows...

Asphalt Gods: an Oral History of the Rucker Tournament.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Vincent Mallozzi, Doubleday, June 2003 $24.00, ISBN 0-385-50675-9 Their names were as colorful as their game--The Goat, Helicopter, Fly, Jumping Jackie, Butterfly and Elevator Man. No, these athletes were not affiliated with the World...

Heroes Without a Country: America's Betrayal of Joe Lewis and Jesse Owens.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Donald McRae, Ecco--HarperCollins, June 2003 $25.95, ISBN 0-060-00228-X Imagine a world of sports where black men didn't dominate boxing or track and field. All you have to do is go back to the 1930s and early 1940s to see that most...

Summer Snow: Reflections From a Black Daughter of the South.(Book Review)
July 1, 2003... by Trudier Harris Beacon Press, March 2003 $24.00, ISBN 0-807-07254-0 In literary circles, Trudier Harris is best known as a scholar, critic and a coeditor of the Oxford Companion to African American Literature. These impressive...

Open Wide the Freedom Gates: a Memoir.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Dorothy Height foreword by Maya Angelou PublicAffairs, June 2003 $26.00, ISBN 1-586-48157-6 As an activist and woman of great significance to the preservation of American democracy, Dorothy Height has experienced America at many...

Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly: The Remarkable Story of the Friendship Between a First Lady and a Former Slave.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Jennifer Fleischner, Broadway Books April 2003, $26.00, ISBN 0-767-90258-0 As Abraham Lincolns' inaugural loomed, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln prepared to make one of the most important decisions in her tenure at the White House. Who...

A song with a story of its own: scholar Cecil Brown's search for the oft-sung exploits of Stagolee underscores the indelible power of our oral culture. (Bibliomane).
July 1, 2003... The artful use of words spoken or sung to entertain or inform is embedded in our culture. The ballad has been particularly important. By definition, ballads tell stories. The verses frequently travel over great distances and through many...

Black Threads: an African American Quilting Sourcebook.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Kyra E. Hicks McFarland and Company, January2003 $38.50, ISBN 0.786-41374-3 Every morning when I arise, I come up from under a quilt made by my mother-in-law. When I look across the room, I see my own mother's first sampler. Having...

Spoken words: storytelling festivals continue the griot tradition.
July 1, 2003... Preachers do it, and teachers, too--they tell stories. Nowadays, from the corporate workplace to therapeutic settings, storytelling is appreciated as a tool of self-discovery and instruction. Dedicated practitioners and listerners gather at...

Pictures for Miss Josie.(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Sandra Belton, Illustrated by Benny Andrews Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins/Amistad Press April 2003, $16.99, ISBN 0-688-17480-9 With this stylish picture book, a major artist pays tribute to Josephine Carroll Smith, an...

Li'l Dan the Drummer Boy: a Civil War Story.(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Romare Bearden Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers September 2003, $18.95, ISBN 0-689-86237-7 Truly a hidden treasure, and only recently discovered, this is the renowned artist's only picture book. His distinctive style, a melange...

I Dream of Trains.(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Angela Johnson, Illustrated by Loren Long Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers September 2003, $16.95. ISBN 0-689-82609-5 Bold and provocative in prose, picture and content, I Dream of Trains is a work worthy of any contemporary...

Friends of a Feather: One of Life's Little Fables.(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... by Bill Cosby, Illustrated by Erika Cosby HarperEntertainment (HarperCollins) May 2003, $16.95, ISBN 0-060-09147-9 A tale of two unique birds is narrated by another bird named Slipper, who describes the beautiful Feathers and the daring Hog...

The brothers Karibu: from street sales to a five-store chain. (market buzz).
July 1, 2003... For a brief moment, the brothers at Karibu took time out to have their cake and eat it, too. Earlier this year, Karibu (pronounced KA-REE-BOO) Books marked its tenth anniversary with a monthlong community celebration that included signings and...

Proceeds for Africa: project turns writer into independent publisher helping church auxiliary channel funds to assist children. (self publishing).
July 1, 2003... A year ago, Trevy A. McDonald was buildng a successful writing career and publishing her books through her company, Reyomi Publishing. Now, not only is she publishing other authors, she is offering a book that will support the children orphaned...

Fiction for the faithful: Denise Stinson's imprint, Walk Worthy Press, stakes out a future for Christian fiction. (faith).
July 1, 2003... Denise Stinson, a highly successful literary agent whose clients have included Bishop T.D. Jakes and CeCe Winans, launched Walk Worthy Press in 1997 out of her own desire to read Christian fiction that she could not find elsewhere. Presenting...

A golden voice goes silent: Lynne Thigpen, the award-winning actress who died this past spring, was the hardest working narrator in audiobooks. (tribute).(Obituary)
July 1, 2003... Actress Lynne Thigpen may be best known for her work on television, on stage and in films, but when she died on March 12 in Los Angeles at age 54, she also left behind an impressive legacy of African American literature on tape. Her unique...

Flying off the shelves.(best sellers )
July 1, 2003... Hardcover. Fiction 1. God's Gift to Women/Michael Baisden ($22.95, Touchstone Books, ISBN 0-743-24692-6) A brother gets stalked by a sister he thought was a one-night stand--the third novel by the best-selling author of The...