Black Issues Book Review articles from May 2003

Black Issues Book Review archives from May 2003

From the editor-in-chief.(Editorial)
May 1, 2003... The War in Iraq enters its third week as this issue of BIBR goes to press. As a publisher committed to bringing out a national magazine devoted to black books, I ponder BIBR s place amidst the concerns of the day--economic uncertainty, safety...

Executive editor's view.(Editorial)
May 1, 2003... A boy who often visited our house in New Jersey declared one day that he had counted 4,000 books there. My personal collection now includes more than 100 cookbooks from flea market finds and gifts from food writers I used to edit. My husband,...

For the village poet. (letters to the editor).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... The beginning was the word. The first word was poetry. The second word was the essay. The third word was the novel All Else. And then there is Amiri Baraka, master wordsmith. A writer that causes you to think deeply and see around the corner of...

Selecting books for students. (letters to the editor).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... I am looking for resources that review children's books written and illustrated by African Americans and noticed that Black Issues Book Review has a section devoted to that purpose. Does each issue have reviews of children's books? Can you...

Oprah Winfrey's book club will return. (Classic Oprah).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Oprah Winfrey's book dub will return. Nearly one year after nixing the club that instantly transformed little-known authors into household names, Winfrey announced that this time she will spotlight the classics. Tentatively titled "Traveling...

Harlem Renaissance icon Zora Neale Hurston was honored with a 37-cent postage stamp commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service on January 24, 2003. (News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Harlem Renaissance icon Zora Neale Hurston was honored with a 37-cent postage stamp commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service on January 24, 2003. The first day of issue ceremony was held during the 14th Annual Zora Neale Hurston Street Festival...

Original diva Diana Ross's memoir Upside Down: Wrong Turns, Right Turns and the Road Ahead was recently acquired by Judith Regan at ReganBooks. (Deals).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Original diva Diana Ross's memoir Upside Down: Wrong Turns, Right Turns and the Road Ahead was recently acquired by Judith Regan at ReganBooks. In what promises to be a "very personal memoir," Ross will open up for the first time on many...

Stephanie Stanley Alexander, president of BlackWords Press has signed M. Dion Thompson, a Baltimore Sun reporter and first-time novelist, to a two-book deal. (Deals).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Stephanie Stanley Alexander, president of BlackWords Press has signed M. Dion Thompson, a Baltimore Sun reporter and first-time novelist, to a two-book deal. The first book, Walk Like a Natural Man, is a coming-of-age novel set in black...

Following the success of Kensington's Souls of My Sisters in 2000, Plume will publish Souls of My Brothers in September in 2003. (Deals).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Following the success of Kensington's Souls of My Sisters in 2000, Plume will publish Souls of My Brothers in September in 2003. In January 2004, Plume will publish Robert Fleming's next untitled collection on love and marriage, the follow up...

Wanda Sykes, the actress, comedian and Emmy Award-winning writer (for the now defunct Chris Rock Show), will pen a collection of humor essays on hot topics, including Hollywood, politics, sex and marriage. (Deals).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Wanda Sykes, the actress, comedian and Emmy Award-winning writer (for the now defunct Chris Rock Show), will pen a collection of humor essays on hot topics, including Hollywood, politics, sex and marriage. Demond Jarrett at Atria Books acquired...

Kimberla Lawson Roby's Too Much of a Good Thing. (Deals).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Kimberla Lawson Roby's Too Much of a Good Thing, the sequel to Casting the First Stone, will be published by William Morrow.

In November 2003, Simon & Schuster will publish Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey. (Deals).
May 1, 2003... In November 2003, Simon & Schuster will publish Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey. Muhammad Ali's daughter Hana Ali will write the book on her father's spiritual awakening and the beliefs he's come to live by.

Atria Books Senior Editor Malaika Adero acquired Jewell Parker Rhodes's Voodoo Season, the sequel to her first novel Voodoo Dreams. (Deals).
May 1, 2003... Atria Books Senior Editor Malaika Adero acquired Jewell Parker Rhodes's Voodoo Season, the sequel to her first novel Voodoo Dreams. Voodoo Seasons is set in New Orleans and follows a young, female medical resident struggling with haunting...

Adero also acquired A Wealth of Wisdom Legendary African American Elders Speak edited by Dr. Camille O. Cosby and Renee Poussaint for publication in fall 2003. (Deals).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Adero also acquired A Wealth of Wisdom Legendary African American Elders Speak edited by Dr. Camille O. Cosby and Renee Poussaint for publication in fall 2003. Cosby and Poussaint are founders of the National Visionary Leadership Project, whose...

Victor McGlothin's second novel, What Every Sistah Wants, was picked up by St. Martin's Press. (Deals).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Victor McGlothin's second novel, What Every Sistah Wants, was picked up by St. Martin's Press. McGlothin made his debut last year with Autumn Leaves.

Crown editor Chris Jackson acquired Greg Morrison and Yanick Rice Lamb's Rise and Fly: Lies, Tall Tales True and Not So True Rules About Bid Whist for Crown's Three Rivers imprint. (Deals).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Crown editor Chris Jackson acquired Greg Morrison and Yanick Rice Lamb's Rise and Fly: Lies, Tall Tales True and Not So True Rules About Bid Whist for Crown's Three Rivers imprint. In what is being dubbed the definitive book on bid whist, Rise...

Carol Mackey, editor-in-chief of Black Expressions Book Club, acquired book-club rights. (Deals).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Carol Mackey, editor-in-chief of Black Expressions Book Club, acquired book-club rights for the following books: Chocolate Sangria by Tracy-Price Thompson; Brown Sugar 2 edited by Carol Taylor; Unchained Memories: Reading From the Slave...

Film rights for Nichelle D. Tramble's debut novel, The Dying Ground (Villard), were optioned. (Deals).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Film rights for Nichelle D. Tramble's debut novel, The Dying Ground (Villard), were optioned by producer Stephanie Allain (Boyz in the Hood,).

Janet Hill of Doubleday/Broadway/Harlem Moon acquired award-winning author J. California Cooper's next short-story collection and novel for close to $500,000 for the Doubleday imprints. (Six-Figure Specials).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Janet Hill of Doubleday/Broadway/Harlem Moon acquired award-winning author J. California Cooper's next short-story collection and novel for close to $500,000 for the Doubleday imprints. Some of Cooper's books include previous collections: The...

Camika Spencer's untitled third novel about a reading group that kidnaps a best-selling male author fetched six figures in a two-book deal with St. Martin's Press. (Six-Figure Specials).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Camika Spencer's untitled third novel about a reading group that kidnaps a best-selling male author fetched six figures in a two-book deal with St. Martin's Press. Spencer's previous works include Cubicles and When All Hell Breaks Loose. ...

Ballantine Books. (People On The Move).(senior editor named)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Melody Guy was recently named senior editor of Ballantine Books. Guy joined Random House in 1997 as publishing manager. In 2000, she helped launch Villard's Strivers Row imprint that focuses on African American titles, and served as its editor...

Atria Books/Washington Square Press. (People On The Move).(publicity manager named)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Carlos Antonio Brown recently joined Atria Books/Washington Square Press as publicity manager after serving as publicist at St. Martin's Press for the past two years. He was previously an associate publicist for Doubleday/Broadway books. "I am...

Awards.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Victor Lavalle's debut novel, The Ecstatic (Crown), was chosen as one of five finalists for the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Fiction Prize. It is the largest American fiction prize ($15,000 to the winner) and the only one voted on by fellow...

Signings & sightings.
May 1, 2003... Atlanta May 7; 7:00 P.M. Atlanta Borders Books & Music Andrea Collier signing her new book, Still With Me May 18; 2:00 P.M. Atlanta Borders Books & Music Jamellah Ellis signing her novel That Faith, That Trust, That Love ...

Emma awards.
May 1, 2003... Third Annual Emma Award Winners Announced at Romance Slam Jam 2003 in Atlanta ATLANTA, March 10, 2003: The winners and finalists for the third annual Emma Awards were honored March 8 at a formal ceremony during Romance Slam Jam 2003 in...

It's BookExpo time! It happens every May: BookExpo America draws booksellers, publishers and other assorted industry players to a mega-convention of what's happening. Here's what on this year.
May 1, 2003... BookExpo America (BEA) is more than the meeting place for the entire publishing and bookselling industry. It's an event where thousands of industry professionals from around the world come together to network, learn and make deals. The...

Jubilee Juneteenth: how our people celebrated freedom time.
May 1, 2003... During this season of Juneteeth, Black Issues Book Review lifts up the voices of the ancestors in celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation's 140th anniversary. These passages words of freedom and songs of Jubilee, compiled with affection...

Hip-hop by the book: from scholarly titles to children's books, hip-hop takes on a new life in print.(Critical Essay)
May 1, 2003... Love it or hate it, hip-hop music is, in its most inspiring moments, literature accompanied by beats and tunes, an idea legitimized when colleges including the University of Wyoming and University of California began teaching courses on Tupac's...

Righteous hip-hop: in an excerpt from his forthcoming book, an old-school conscious rapper critiques the direction of a cultural expression he loves. (rhythm & books).(Excerpt)(Critical Essay)
May 1, 2003... The question that needs to be asked of everyone passionate about Hiphop is: What does it mean to be Hiphop? Does being Hiphop mean that every woman you know has only a bathing suit and expensive underwear as her wardrobe? Does being Hiphop mean...

Hip-hop social criticism: bold and edgy commentary appeals to a new generation. (rhythm & books).(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... With hip-hop as its lens, Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism! (ReganBooks/HarperCollins, October 2002, ISBN 0-060-98896-7) takes an irreverently humorous and unconventional approach to racial prejudice and stereotypes, just as television producer...

A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Ashley Kahn Viking, October 2002 $27.95, ISBN 0-670-03136-4 Undoubtedly, 1968 was one of the most turbulent periods of the twentieth century, but 1965 was easily a harbinger of things to come, with the assassination of Malcolm X, the...

Faith in Time: the Life of Jimmy Scott.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by David Ritz Da Capo Press, September 2002 $25.00, ISBN 0-306-81088-3 Both the artistry and mystery of jazz singer Jimmy Scott has intrigued music aficionados, enduring fans, fellow musicians and avid listeners ever since he began...

June is Black Music Month. (book bytes).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The R&B Music Primer www.rhythmandtheblues.org.uk A great overview of R&B, blues and authentic soul music produced from the 1940s and beyond. Includes an extensive biography section of various artists, complete with a literature section and...

Spell-check software--an editor's friend or foe? (In The Headlines ...).(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... According to a story released by the Associated Press, a study conducted by University of Pittsburgh asked 33 undergraduate students to proofread a one-page business letter. Half proofed manually. The others used Microsoft Word spell-check...

Motown writer's network. (Click on This).(motownwriters.homestead.com)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... http://motownwriters.homestead.com/main Michele: My first reaction to seeing the homepage was "Wow? There's a lot going on here, and much more to come according to the note at the bottom of the page (waaayyy at the bottom). The purpose is...

Tajuana "TJ" Butler. (Authors on the Web).(T.J. Butler's web site)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... http://www.tjbutler.com Pre-selling effectively on the Web It is a breath of fresh air that the Hand-Me-Down Heartache and Sorority Sisters author features her next book, The Night Before Thirty (Villard, May 2003, $21.95, ISBN...

Eye.(Painted Voices: An Artist's Journey Into the World of Black Writers)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Painted Voices: An Artist's Journey Into the World of Black Writers by Gilbert Fletcher CNG Editions, $40.00, ISBN 0-971-65090-X All of us book lovers have our own way of paying homage to the works of writers who have helped make us who we...

Gallery.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... African-American Artists, 1929-1945: Prints, Drawings, and Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Lisa Mintz Messenger, Lisa Gail Collins and Rachel Mustalish The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Yale University Press, January 2003 $14.95,...

The Wedding Planner: books for the twenty first century bride of African descent illustrate a range of stylish options for a unique ceremony that reflects her heritage.(The Afrocentric Bride: A Style Guide)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Just ten years ago, black couples planning o get married were hard-pressed to find e resources they needed to help them create a unique ceremony that reflected their African heritage. There was little information in either books, magazines or...

Our unlikely griot: as a dyslexic who still appreciates the liberating power of books, as an actress and a producer in this multimedia age, Whoopi Goldberg holds fast in her distinctive way to the values of African American culture. (Cover Story).(Critical Essay)
May 1, 2003... In many ways, Whoopi Goldberg seems like an unlikely keeper of our cultural flame. After all, she's best known in American pop culture for the sly grin, the frenzied hair and the stream of Hollywood hits (and misses) that checker her career....

Suspense sells: a Black-owned bookstore in Pennsylvania targets readers of mysteries, detective stories and crime fiction. (market buzz).(Company Profile)
May 1, 2003... Juanita Koukoui thrives on intrigue. For five years, she has provided a haven for hundreds of sinister characters. Known plotters of all kinds have been welcomed at her place in a quaint area of Yeadon, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. But...

Reading for support: a sister circle turns to book discussions as both an anchor and to uplift one another.
May 1, 2003... In 1995, Vanessa Lance started a support group, the Women of Substance, in Brooklyn, New York, for those struggling with career and financial issues. Within two years, the group had evolved into a book club. Preparing for the meetings...

A heavy honey spreads it on thick: in her new book, fabulous funny woman Mo'Nique challenges the tyranny of the thin and celebrates living large.(Skinny Women Are Evil: Notes of a Big Girl in a Small-Minded World)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Skinny Women Are Evil by Mo'Nique and Sherri McGee is a call to arms for big women to take a stand against the skinny slights and just plain ol' insensitivity of those who do not value women of substance. It is a trumpet call for big girls "to...

Night Work.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Nelson George Simon & Schuster, June 2003 $12.00, ISBN 0-743-23551-7 This is a tawdry tale about a low-life, New York pimp, Night. He fronts as an occasional model, singer, dancer and personal trainer, and entertains for both men and...

Too Beautiful to Die.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Glenville Lovell Putnam, July 2003 $23.95, ISBN 0-399-15048-X In the best detective stories, there are challenges and obstacles that the hero feels he cannot overcome because of personality conflicts, external responsibilities or moral...

A Mighty Love.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Anita Doreen Diggs Dafina Books, February 2003 $24.00, ISBN 0-758-20231-8 Anita Doreen Diggs, coauthor of the Blackboard best-selling book Staying Married: A Guide for African Americans and former senior editor and director of One...

The Other Woman.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Eric Jerome Dickey Dutton, May 2003 $23.95, ISBN-0-525-94724-8 Dickey is back and as dicey as ever in his eighth book. It is a steamy, lascivious and realistically chilling novel about how the extracurricular bedroom antics of a...

A Love Noire.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Erica Simone Turnipseed Amistad, July 2003 $19.95, ISBN 0-060-53679-9 When a novel receives as much hype as Erica Simone Turnipseed's A Love Noire, critics tend to expect very little from the finished product, but any such conclusions...

The woman at the well: a first novel reworks a familiar story from the gospel of St. John to affirm African American women.(Living Water by Obery Hendricks)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... It has long been Obery Hendricks's desire to use his life's work to challenge the status quo on behalf of the systemically oppressed. So it was not surprising that what began as a short story for his daughter, as she graduated from high school,...

The writing process: scissors and glue: reflections of an anthologist.(Critical Essay)
May 1, 2003... All you need to compile an anthology is a pair of scissors and a pot of glue, Richard Wright once jokingly remarked. He never edited an anthology. I've edited or co-edited quite a few and know what it takes to stitch together a quilt of...

Love letters straight from the heart.(A Love No Less: More Than Two Centuries of African American Love Letters )(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... When she was a little girl, Pamela Newkirk often read her mother's love letters. "They were a real escape for me," she says. "They were so romantic and poetic. My mother, a beautiful African American woman, was the princess being wooed by a...

Of mamas, papas and "big mamas": authors weave a rich tapestry portraying strong African American kinships.(five books on family)(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Families are the blueprints for how we build our lives. Mothers, fathers, grandparents and surrogates--the "architects" that shape us--hold our precious destinies in their hands. The following books create a multilayered portrait of today's...

On the wings of a Dove: a collection of literary conversations with poet Rita Dove, from the University Press of Mississippi and other offbeat treasures covering the arts.(Conversations With Rita Dove)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... Rita Dove, a former Poet Laureate of the United States, likes interviews. She subjects herself to them readily, particularly in-depth, literary interviews by scholars who have read and thought about her work, as opposed to drive-by chats with...

Black Dionysus: Greek Tragedy and African-American Theatre.
May 1, 2003... by Kevin J. Wetmore Jr. (McFarland & Company, 2003, $35.00, ISBN 0-7864-1545-2), explores the connections various writers have made between Greek tragedy and the African experience in the world. --Angela Dodson is executive editor of Black...

Black City Cinema: African American Urban Experiences in Film.
May 1, 2003... by Paula J. Massood (Temple University Press, February 2003, $19.95, ISBN 1-592-13003-8), examines how African Americans and the urban environment have been portrayed in films since the 1920s. --Angela Dodson is executive editor of Black...

African American Concert Singers Before 1950.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Darryl Glenn Nettles (McFarland & Company, February 2003, $39.95, ISBN 0-786-41467-7), looks at the vocal arts, offering a rare view of black musical artists who predate or may not have reached the fame of Marian Anderson, Roland Hayes and...

Out of Sight: the Rise of African American Popular Music, 1889-1895.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff (University Press of Mississippi, February 2003, $75.00, ISBN 1-578-06499-6), looks at musical personalities, issues and events of this formative musical era. The cover art calls the book "An Illustrated History...

White People Do Not Know How to Behave at Entertainments Designed for Ladies and Gentlemen of Colour: William Brown's African-American Theater.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Marvin McAllister (University of North Carolina Press, May 2003, $45.00, ISBN 0-807-82777-0), details the case of an outdoor entertainment center, or "pleasure garden" in Manhattan in the 1820s. The pleasures were fresh air, ice cream,...

America's Promise.(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Alma Powell Illustrated by Marsha Winborn HarperCollins Children's Books, April 2003 $15.99, ISBN 0-060-52172-4 Alma Powell, wife of Secretary of Defense Colin Powell, is cochair of America's Promise: The Alliance for Youth, a national...

Who's Got Game? The Ant or the Grasshopper?(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... by Toni & Slade Morrison, Pictures by Pascal Lemaitre Scribner, July 2003 $16.95 ISBN 0-743-22247-4 Expect the unexpected with Toni and Slade Morrison. They don't serve up your typical children's book fare with perfect, clean endings....

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt.(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Deborah Hopkinson paintings by James Ransom Random House, January 2003 $15.95, ISBN 0-679-82311-5 Ages 5-10 Quilters will enjoy sharing their love of the needlecraft with the youngest generation through this story. With the help of the...

Black All Around.(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Patricia Hubbell, illustrated by Don Tate Lee & Low Books, April 2003 $16.95, ISBN 1-58430-048-5 "Look high, look low, look everywhere... the wonderful color of black is there!" A little girl goes off on a visual adventure and...

Me and Uncle Romie.(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Claire Hartfield, pictures by Jerome Lagarrigue Dial Books for Young Readers December 2002 $16.99, ISBN 0-803-72520-5 Me and Uncle Romie narrates the summer experience of James, a child from North Carolina, who is sent to his uncle (who...

From Totems to Hip-Hop: a Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas, 1900-2002.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... 1900-2002, edited by Ishmael Reed Thunders Mouth Press, March 2003 $34.95, ISBN 1-560-25500-5 Reed's effort to liberate poetry from the market and the canon has produced one of several fundamental anthologies of twentieth-century American...

Imitation of Life: Poems.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Allison Joseph Carnegie Mellon University Press, April 2003 $12.95, ISBN 0-887-48386-0 The poems in Joseph's fourth book of poetry adhere to principles of representation, in accessible language with a deliberate absence of abstraction....

Singing the Bones Together.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... by Angela Shannon Tia Chucha Press, April 2003 $13.95, ISBN 1-882-68828-7 Through "Root Women," "Conjure Woman," "Shadow Man," and other projections of memory and pure imagination, the poet practices "disremembering" a history plagued by...

First, do no harm to the language: and other lessons a self-published writer could learn from a professional editor. (self publishing).(Critical Essay)
May 1, 2003... As a child, I loved listening to the tales spun by my uncles, aunts, godmothers and godfathers. So it is no wonder I grew up to become a story weaver myself. A few years ago, I wrote my first novel using only my storytelling DNA and the talent...

Ask the book doctor.
May 1, 2003... Dear Dr. Rosie, I have attended many expo venues and writer's conferences to sell my book; I was always disappointed, however, with my book sales. I have always heard that networking is important, but it has not worked for me. Am I missing...

The mystery man of the Harlem Renaissance: novelist Rudolph Fisher was a forerunner of Walter Mosley.(The Walls of Jericho; The Conjure-Man Dies: A Mystery Tale of Dark Harlem; The City of Refuge: The Collected Stories of Rudolph Fisher)(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... The Walls of Jericho (Black Classics) by Rudolph Fisher The X Press; March 1997, $9.95, ISBN 1-874-50928-X The Conjure-Man Dies: A Mystery Tale of Dark Harlem by Rudolph Fisher University of Michigan Press, March 1992 $16.95, ISBN...

What Next: a Memoir Toward World Peace.(Book Review)
May 1, 2003... by Walter Mosley Black Classic Press, February 2003 $16.95, ISBN 1-574-78020-4 The collective African American experience has evolved "a singular perspective on the qualities of revenge, security, and peace," Mosley writes in this primer...