Black Issues Book Review articles from March 2001

Black Issues Book Review archives from March 2001

Tenderheaded: A Comb-Bending Collection of Hair Stories.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Spotlight: Nikki Giovanni.
March 1, 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,...

How to Make Black America Better.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Black Roots: A Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Of poets and best-seller lists ...
March 1, 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...

Phenomenal Women, Everyday Poets.(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

letters to the editor.
March 1, 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...

Hot Johnny and the Women Who Loved Him.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Voodoomation: The Book of Foretelling.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Breathing Room.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

The Dying Ground.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

The Warmest December.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Romance ...(Bibliography)
March 1, 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...

Brown Sugar.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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,...

Fire in Beulah.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Gabriel's Story.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

High Hand.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Paradise Interrupted.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Reinventing the Woman.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Do Unto Others.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

The Haunting of Hip Hop.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Temptation.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Brutal Imagination.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Jazz from the Haiku King.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

New and Notable from Poets Doin' it For Themselves.(African American self-published titles)
March 1, 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...

Fast Cities and Objects That Burn.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Mecurochrome.(Review)
March 1, 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...

Same Trip, Different Ships.(Dominican authors and African Americans)(Interview)
March 1, 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...

Design Femmes noires.(African American designers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Soul Style: Black Women Redefining the Color of Fashion.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Black Beauty: A History and Celebration.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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,...

Women Designers in the USA, 1900-2000: Diversity and Difference.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

In Defense of SLAM! Nation.(slam poetry)
March 1, 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...

The Fascinating Foremothers of Destiny's Child.(Motown women musicians)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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,...

The Murder of Biggie Smalls.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Take Me To the River.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Soul in them there Hills.
March 1, 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...

We Will Be Heard!
March 1, 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...

Coming to Birth.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

History, Hair-story, Her-story.
March 1, 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...

Literary Motherland.(www.timbooktu.com)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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,...

Online Booksellers.
March 1, 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....

Search Engines that Share Your Cyber World.(www.blackwebportal.com)(www.afroroots.com)(www.blackvue.com)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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!
March 1, 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...

A Black Women's Oasis for Reading and Empowerment.(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Calculating African American Bestsellers.
March 1, 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...

21st-Century Homage to Djeli Crafstmanship.
March 1, 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...

Maya A Precious Prism.
March 1, 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,...

Give the Poets Some.(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Talking Dirty to The Gods.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Affrilachia.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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,...

Deals.(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Langston's Buddha Smile.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

on the shelf.(Brief Article)
March 1, 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,...

Following the Footsteps of Nikki, Maya and Sonia.
March 1, 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...

Dear Dr. Rosie.
March 1, 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...

The Author-Book Club Connection.(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Black Queens of the Tennis Court.(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Chamique: On Family, Focus, and Basketball.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Salvation: Black People and Love.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Self-Published Nonfiction.(Bibliography)
March 1, 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...

Voices in Our Blood.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

From the Old School to the New.(Bibliography)
March 1, 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...

Homecoming.(Review)
March 1, 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...

Talk Stories.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 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...

Money, Power, Respect: What Brothers Think, What Sisters Know.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Money, Power, Respect: What Brothers Think, What Sisters Know by Denene Millner & Nick Chiles William Morrow Publishers, January 2001, $20.00, ISBN 0-688-17886-3 Today's world of dating and relationships can be complex and frustrating....

Until Today: Devotions for Spiritual Growth and Peace of Mind.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Until Today: Devotions for Spiritual Growth and Peace of Mind by Iyanla Vanzant Simon & Schuster, December 2000, $22.00 ISBN 1-684-84137-1 "Until today, you may have been sitting around, afraid to move, afraid to fail. Just for today, be...

Black Business.(Bibliography)
March 1, 2001... Keep that New Years Resolution alive with these recent titles aimed at building and keeping wealth in our families and communities. Cultural and Economic Revitalization: A Five-Step Reference for Overcoming Black Failure by Nique Fajors...

Focusing on Craft.
March 1, 2001... A black writer's guide to conferences and workshops offering expert support to improve skills and technique In my development as a human being and as a writer I have been, it seems to me, extremely blessed, even while complaining.... This...

Unguarded: My Forty Years Surviving in the NBA.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Unguarded: My Forty Years Surviving in the NBA by Lenny Wilkins with Terry Pluto Simon and Schuster, November 2000, $25.00, ISBN 0-684-87374-5 Even if you're not a basketball fan, this is a great read. Wilkins deals with social issues that...

Women Athletes of the New Millennium: Superstars of Women's Tennis.(Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Women Athletes of the New Millennium: Superstars of Women's Tennis by Ellen Miles Aladdin Paperbacks, August 2000, $5.99, ISBN 0-689-83959-6 Miles provides biographical snapshots of nine powerhouse women tennis players, some retired,...

Help Wanted at Our Libraries.
March 1, 2001... Black librarians are growing scarce, just like black teachers. Low pay scales stymie African American recruitment and retention, so it's time for community action Black librarians are disappearing. These gatekeepers of African American...

Playing with words.(Brief Article)(Bibliography)
March 1, 2001... Children's poetry has long been a staple of the learning process, and there are a number of wonderful books out there that will help your child learn language, and imaginative skills, while developing a love of poetry that will last a lifetime....

Words With Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art.(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Words With Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art by Belinda Rochelle HarperCollins Children's Books, January 2001, $16.95, ISBN 0-060-29363-2, Ages 4-8 Belinda Rochelle, author of When Jo Louis Won the Title (Houghton...

Dancing In the Wings.(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Dancing In the Wings by Debbie Allen, illustrated by Kadir Nelson Dial Book for Young Readers, September 2000, $16.99, ISBN 0-803-72501-9, Ages 4-8 Surely no one knows more about the world of dance than Debbie Allen, who is not only a...