Black Issues Book Review articles from November 2002

Black Issues Book Review archives from November 2002

From the editor-in-chief.(Nikki Giovanni)(Editorial)
November 1, 2002... I first met Nikki Giovanni in 1993 on the set of our videoconference, "The Writers, The Stories, The Legacy," sponsored by BIBR's sister publication Black Issues in Higher Education. Nikki was one of the first writers to participate in this...

Executive editor's view.(Editorial)
November 1, 2002... This is usually the time when people take stock and look to the year ahead. For Black Issues Book Review, 2002 has been a remarkable and challenging year. As we approach our fourth anniversary, we have witnessed the market for black books and...

Tavis and 9/11. .(Tavis Smiley)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... I respectfully disagree with Mr. Smiley's distinction between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism is the fanatical, zealous support for one's country no matter what, which is what we have going on in this country now. Nationalism is a...

Why Jamal still can't read. .(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... The article "Why Jamal Still Can't Read" provoked a lot of thought. I must admit that I disagree with placing much blame on the public educational system. Our children should have a strong foundation for learning long before they step foot in a...

Deals. (Between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry).
November 1, 2002... Stephanie Stokes Oliver, author of Daily Cornbread: 365 Days for a Healthy Mind, Body and Spirit and Seven Soulful Secrets: For Finding Your Purpose and Minding Your Missions, will switch gears and pen a memoir about her father, Charles M....

Correction.
November 1, 2002... In the September-October 2002 issue Erica Turnipseed's name was inadvertently spelled with a "k." Also, Turnipseed's agent is Nicholas Roman Lewis, not Tanya McKinnon. BIBR regrets these errors.

Awards spotlight. (Between the lines: the inside scoop on what's happening in the publishing industry).(Colson Whitehead)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Congratulations to novelist Colson Whitehead who was named a 2002 MacArthur Fellow. Referred to as the "genius award," Whitehead, at 32, is the second youngest recipient of this year's fellowship and one of only three African-American winners....

Doubleday. (People On The Move).(associate publicist Ari Lyn Jones)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Ari Lyn Jones, who joined Doubleday in 2000 as a publicity assistant, has been promoted to associate publicist. During her time at Doubleday, Jones has worked on publicity campaigns for E. Lynn Harris, David Anthony Durham and Connie Briscoe.

Writersandpoets.com. (People On The Move).(publisher and CEO Earl Cox)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Earl Cox has left John Wiley & Sons after almost 10 years as national accounts manager and African American book sales manager. Cox, a 20-year publishing veteran has started his own company, Writersandpoets.com, LLC, where he currently serves...

Amistad/ HarperCollins. (People On The Move).(editorial assistant Darah Smith)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Darah Smith, a Duke University graduate who recently completed the Columbia Publishing Course, has joined Amistad/ HarperCollins as an editorial assistant.

Harlem song. (BIBR spotlight: Clara Villarosa's).(Hue Man Bookstore, Harlem, New York)
November 1, 2002... Clara Villarosa is sitting in a Harlem bookstore sipping on peppermint tea, as the sound of a Marvin Gaye song pour from the radio station airwaves. On this mild August morning, colorfully dressed black men and women parade in and out of the...

Charles White: The David C. Driskell Series of American Art: Volume 1.(Book Review)
November 1, 2002... by Andrea D. Barnwell Promegranate, October 2002, $35.00, ISBN 0-764-92129-0 Settle your eyes on a painting by Charles White, and it is easy to understand why he is hailed as a treasure. An artist of incredible talent, White's oeuvre...

African Masks: From the Barbier-Mueller Collection.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Iris Hahner-Herzog, Maria Keckesi, and Laszlo Vajda Prestel, June 2002, $29.95, ISBN 3-791-32709-7 The internationally acclaimed Barbier-Mueller Museum Collection in Geneva, Switzerland, houses one of the world's most impressive...

Time of Change: Civil Rights Photographs 1961-1965.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Bruce Davidson St. Ann's Press, September 2002, $65.00, ISBN 0-971-36811-2 By the early 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement that began shortly after the Civil War had reached a boiling point. The demonstrations, protest marches and rallies...

A book about book clubs. (Books N clubs).('BookClub' by Curtis Bunn)
November 1, 2002... As the black book market continues to grow in popularity, authors of all genres are finding support, recognition and a welcoming audience in book clubs across the country. Curtis Bunn, a sports-writer and columnist for the Atlanta...

Celebrity authors opt for online promotion. (book bytes).
November 1, 2002... Def Jam recording artist Ashanti Douglas' self-titled album Ashanti earned her the biggest first-week sales for a female R&B artist debut in Billboards SoundScan era. "Album promotion is an extensive campaign, a yearlong process, and much of it...

Africa gets wired: www.schoolnetafrica.net/. (Net News).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... SchoolNetAfrica (SNA) is the first African-based and African-led, nonprofit organization that promotes Internet technology education in schools throughout the continent. The goal of SchoolNetAfrica is to support "the right of every African...

Niaonline. (Should You Click on this?).(web site for African American women)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Sheryl's view: Niaonline was a website launched in October 1999 for African-American women, by high-tech executive Cheryl E. Mayberry and automotive marketing and brand executive Bonita K. Coleman. There are several channels such as "Feel at...

The best of 2002.(books by black writers)(Bibliography)
November 1, 2002... This year has been a banner one for black writers and the market for black books. Already, we've seen major launches for a number of books by black writers including established authors like Maya Angelou, perennial best-seller E. Lynn Harris...

Always True to You in My Fashion.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Valerie Wilson Wesley William Morrow, November 2002 $23.95 ISBN 0-060-18883-9 Valerie Wilson Wesley took a break from her Tamara Hayle mystery series to pen the upscale relationship novel Always True to You in My Fashion. Set in New...

BIBR talks to Valerie Wilson Wesley.(Interview)
November 1, 2002... Valerie Wilson Wesley's relationship novel Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do, which debuted in 1999, was awarded Best Fiction for 2000 by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. In her latest book, Always True to You in My Fashion,...

Love Frustration.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by RM Johnson Simon & Schuster, October 2002 $23.00, ISBN 0-743-22973-8 Author Rodney Marcus (RM) Johnson's latest novel has all the makings of a contemporary love story. Love Frustration features surprising plot twists, a cast of...

Who Killed Tiffany Jones?: A Novel.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by "Mavis Kaye" Amistad, September 2002 $22.95, ISBN 0-066-21333-9 When Tiffany Jones, a former disco diva and celebrated chanteuse, is found dead in her dressing room during a performance at the Apollo Theater, shock waves reverberate...

Neva Hafta.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Edwardo Jackson Strivers Row, October 2002 $22.95, ISBN 0-375-50637-3 Los Angeles-based novelist Edwardo Jackson returns with an entertaining follow-up to his debut novel Ever After. Set in California, Nick (whose last name is not...

The Cotillion, or One Good Bull Is Half Of the Herd.(plus 'My Love, My Love, or the Peasant Girl')(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by John Oliver Killens Coffee House Press, April 2002 $14.95, ISBN 1-560-89119-1 My love, My Love, or the Peasant Girl by Rosa Guy Coffee House Press, September 2002 $11.95, ISBN 1-566-89131-0 John Oliver Killens and Rosa Guy were...

The Drift.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by John Ridley Alfred A. Knopf, September 2002 $24.00, ISBN 0-375-41182-8 Conventional wisdom says that after releasing a feature film and two novels all within six months--a feat accomplished this year by John Ridley--the author isn't...

This Side of the Sky.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Elyse Singleton Blue Hen Books/Penguin Putnam Inc. October 2002 $24.95, ISBN 0-399-14920-1 Thoughtful and witty, This Side of the Sky is a luminous portrait of Myraleen Tessie "Voodoo" Chamdham, a mulatto teenaged girl, and Lilian...

A Little Piece of Sky.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Nicole Bailey-Williams Harlem Moon, October 2002 $9.95, ISBN 0-767-91216-0 Nicole Bailey-Williams' compelling debut novel, A Little Piece of Sky, is a welcome addition to contemporary African-American fiction. It's an engaging novel...

Echoes of a Distant Summer.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Guy Johnson Random House, August 2002 $24.95, ISBN 0-375-50567-9 Jackson Tremain, protagonist of Guy Johnson's Echoes of a Distant Summer is working for the city of Oakland, California, when he receives a phone call from his grandmother,...

Giovanni's world: after a three-year hiatus, poet-activist Nikki Giovanni returns with Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea.
November 1, 2002... In the midst of a sweltering August heat wave, I'm sitting at a table in a posh uptown Manhattan cafe waiting to meet poet Nikki Giovanni for lunch. It's one of those days that every piece of clothing sticks to you like glue and the...

LL Cool J reads and rhymes. (celebrity children's books).(And the Winner Is ... ; includes interview)(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... And the Winner Is... by LL Cool J, illustrated by JibJab Media Scholastic, September 2002, $13.95 ISBN 0-439-38911-9 (Book & CD) Ages 4-10 In today's media-driven culture, many of our children can rattle off the verses of their favorite...

The Morrison's meanies. (celebrity children's books).(The Book of Mean People by Toni and Slade Morrison)(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The Book of Mean People by Toni and Slade Morrison illustrated by Pascal LeMaitre Hyperion Books for Children September 2002 $16.99, ISBN 0-786-80540-4 Toni Morrison and her son Slade have teamed up for a children's book--the second for...

The Lees do the write thing. (celebrity children's books).(Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee; includes interview)(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee Illustrated by Kadir Nelson Simon & Schuster, November 2002 $16.95, ISBN 0-689-83233-8 Life with a toddler is full of love, laughs and memorable times. It is also full of a surprising...

For colored girls who have considered fairy tales. (celebrity children's books).(Float Like a Butterfly, story by Ntozake Shange; includes interview)(Book Review)
November 1, 2002... Float Like a Butterfiy Story by Ntozake Shange, Illustrated by Edel Rodriguez Jump at the Sun/Hyperion September 2002 $15.99, ISBN 0-786-80554-4 In Float Like a Butterfly, playwright and novelist Ntozake Shange tells the story, in her own...

Bell hooks' be a boy and girlpie. (celebrity children's book).(Be Boy Buzz, Homemade Love)(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Be Boy Buzz by bell hooks illustrated by Chris Raschka Hyperion Books for Children, October 2002 $16.99, ISBN 0-786-80814-4 Homemade Love by bell hooks illustrated by Shane W. Evans Hyperion Books for Children December 2002 $16.99, ISBN...

A Lawyer's Life.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Johnnie Cochran with David Fisher Thomas Dunne Books/ St. Martin's Press, October 2002 $25.95, ISBN 0-312-27826-8 The name Johnnie Cochran will most likely always be linked to that of former pro football player and pitchman O. J....

BIBR talks to Johnnie Cochran.(Interview)
November 1, 2002... There are many misconceptions about Johnnie Cochran, the lawyer, the man, the social activist. In his new book, A Lawyer's Life, he tackles them with his usual brand of candor, intelligence and courage. Now, as head of the Cochran Firm, a...

3 Black Chicks Review Flicks: Movie Reviews With Flava!(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Kamal "The Diva" Larsuel-Ulbricht, Rose "Bams" Cooper, Cassandra "Cass" Henry Amistad, November 2002 $17.95, ISBN 0-060-50871-X As its title proclaims, 3 Black Chicks Review Flicks is a movie guide written from the point of view of...

Zora Neale Hurston: a Life in Letters.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Edited by Carla Kaplan Doubleday, October 2002 $40.00 ISBN 0-385-49035-6 Within days of having Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters in my possession, I was inspired to devote the total of my lunch hour to selecting beautiful blank cards...

African American Humor: the Best Black Comedy from Slavery to Today.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... edited by Mel Watkins Foreword by Dick Gregory Lawrence Hill Books, September 2002 $29.95, ISBN 1-556-52430-7 Laughter is familiar territory for Mel Watkins. As author of On the Real Side: A History of African American Comedy, Watkins...

Hacker Cracker: a Journey from the Mean Streets of Brooklyn to the Frontiers of Cyberspace.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Ejovi Nuwere and David Chanoff William Morrow, October 2002 $24.95, ISBN 0-066-21079-8 In Hacker Cracker, Ejovi Nuwere (with coauthor David Chanoff) shares his unlikely life story, that of a kid from a poor Brooklyn neighborhood who...

A Plentiful Harvest: Creating Balance and Harmony Through the Seven Living Virtues.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Terrie Williams Warner Books, November 2002 $22.95, ISBN 0-446-52715-7 I was at that point. You know the one where you feel like it's only raining on your parade. We've all been there. When you're trying to hold it all together, but...

Al on America.(Book Review)
November 1, 2002... by Reverend Al Sharpton with Karen Hunter Dafina/Kensington, October 2002 $27.00, ISBN 0-758-20350-0 We can blame Jimmy Carter for inventing the campaign book and Bill Clinton for popularizing it. Thanks to them, each new presidential...

Unfinished Business: a Democrat and a Republican Take on the 10 Most Important Issues Women Face.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Dr. Julianne Malveaux and Deborah Perry Perigee, September 2002 $23.95, ISBN 0-399-52808-3 It definitely makes better TV. In fact, that's where the idea of Unfinished Business got started. In 1998, Julianne Malveaux, an economist and...

The New HNIC: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Todd Boyd NYU Press, December 2002 $22.95, ISBN 0-814-79895-0 Older generations may never fully understand hip hop beyond its music and clothing. But a new offering, Todd Boyd's The New H.N.I.C., offers insight for both young and old,...

Introducing Halle Berry.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Christopher John Farley Pocket Books, November 2002 $6.99, ISBN 0-743-46453-2 Writer Christopher John Farley has submerged himself in the murky and often dangerous waters of pop psychology. Based on his interview in 1991, coupled with...

Of Beetles and Angels: a Boy's Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard.(Book Review)(Young Adult Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Mawi Asgedom Little, Brown, September 2002 $9.95, ISBN 0-316-82620-0 "The desert, I remember. The shrieking hyenas, I remember. But beyond that, I cannot separate what I remember from what I have heard in stories." Thus begins the slim...

Holiday gift guide for book lovers: if you've got a bona fide book lover on your holiday gift list and don't want to buy another book, book-on-tape or e-book, here are a few suggestions to consider.(Buyers Guide)
November 1, 2002... Bookcovers Protect your favorite paperback with a picture frame bookcover from You Gotta Have It. The cover features an attached bookmark and has space for four photographs. It's $12 and available at yougottahaveit.com. Lycra book suits...

Holiday culinary guide.(Bibliography)
November 1, 2002... It's easy to believe that the holidays were created with a feast in mind. During this time of the year, brunches and dinners are created with abundance; and the aromas and flavors of the foods alone are worthy of celebration. Whether it's...

Men of Color Study Bible.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... edited by Mel Banks Nia Publishing Company, Inc., January 2002 $34.99, ISBN 0-529-11494-1 Nia Publishing Company has hit the mark again with its series of Bibles targeting people of color. Evidence of its previous success, the Women of...

No Regrets.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Patricia Haley New Spirit Books, June 2002 $15.00, ISBN 1-583-14299-1 Although told through a cast of one-dimensional characters, Patricia Haley's new Christian fiction novel, No Regrets, offers an inspiring reminder that it does not...

Readings in African American Church Music and Worship.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Compiled and edited by James Abbington GIA Publications, April 2002 $49.95, ISBN-1-579-99163-7 "In most black churches, music, or more precisely singing, is second only to preaching as a magnet of attraction and the primary vehicle of....

Boom in Christian fiction. (self publishing).
November 1, 2002... Inspirational, Christian, Faith-based. Whatever you call it, there is increasing popularity of spiritually inspired fiction and nonfiction for the African-American reader. And more and more black men have taken a prominent place as authors in a...

Ask the book doctor.(author's "book blues")
November 1, 2002... Dear Dr. Rosie, I've lost all excitement for my book. In fact, I feel as though I am suffering from "book blues." I was so sure that I would sell 50,000 books my first year. I have only sold 2,500 books for the first year. I am depressed....

The Def of poetry. (poetic license).
November 1, 2002... "The first discipline is the realization that there is a discipline--that all art begins and ends with discipline, that any art is first and foremost a craft"--Archibald MacLeish A colleague of mine says that hip-hop impresario Russell...

Transcircularities: New and Selected Poems.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... by Quincy Troupe Coffee House Press, September 2002 $30.00, ISBN 1-566-89137-X Transcircularities is a comprehensive collection that should succeed with those not familiar with Quincy Troupe. The author of six volumes of poetry--Avalanche...

Tribute: a life devoted to books: Alfred Ligon 1906-2002.(founder of the Aquarian Book Shop in Los Angeles, California)(Obituary)
November 1, 2002... Alfred Ligon, founder of the Aquarian Book Shop in Los Angeles, the nations oldest continuously operated African-American-owned bookstore, died August 10. He was 96. Of Ligon, author Walter Mosley called him "a great man who was the single...