RECENT AALBC.COM BOOK REVIEWS & ARTICLES
AALBC.com publishes scores of articles, books reviews and author profiles each month.  Below is sample of the most recently added content.

Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art
Editors Tony Medina, Samiya A. Bashir and Quraysh Ali Lansana
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/rolecall.htm

Overall, this collection holds it�s on in comparison to others. "Role Call" merits inclusion with anthology notables such as; "Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing" (Morrow; 1968), "Black Voices: Anthology of African-American Literature" (Signet Classic; reissued in 2001), and the recent work "Step Into a World: A Global Anthology of the New Black Literature (Wiley & Sons; 2000). "Role Call" sets itself apart from the "here comes another anthology" legion by operating from a sense of mission.
―Reviewed by Rondall Brasher

Lay this body Down: The 1921 Murders of Eleven Plantation Slaves
by Gregory A. Freeman
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/laythisbodydown.htm

Lay This Body Down by Gregory A. Freeman is an examination of a 1921 murder case where a plantation owner and his black overseer murdered eleven men because the owner feared a federal investigation for violating an 1867 federal law making it illegal to practice peonage. Lay This Body Down is a first-rate account of a little known episode in American history.
―Reviewed by Thumper

Somebody's Knocking
by Francis Ray
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/somebodysknocking.htm

I couldn't wait to read Somebody's Knocking At My Door. I wanted to see if I truly liked Francis Ray's writing style. I reviewed Ray's previous novel, I Know Who Holds Tomorrow, and I loved it. Since, I've long been tired of Buppie-inspired romantic fiction, I don't know why I loved this book so much. In order to see if lightning would strike twice in the same spot, I had to read Somebody's Knocking At My Door. Again, lightning bopped me upside my head because I loved Somebody's Knocking At My Door....
―Reviewed by Thumper

Hunting in Harlem
by Mat Johnson
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/huntinginharlem.htm

Hunting In Harlem is a brilliant, thought provoking, humorous at times, and multi-faceted thriller that moves with the beauty and force of a tall Hawaiian waterfall...The book is more than a mystery/suspense novel, it is a study in human nature, an exploration of the black middle class, and the solid second step in establishing Mat Johnson as a literary force.
―Reviewed by Thumper

Sapphire's Grave
by Hilda Gurley-Highgate
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/sapphiresgrave.htm

In 1749, a proud, spirited blue-black woman is chained in the stagnant belly of ship, taken from her home, Sierra Leone, West Africa, and the life she knew. She is made a slave in America where she gives birth to her daughter. The slave master names the new baby Sapphire. Mother and daughter are eventually separated but her mother leaves Sapphire the gifts of self-pride, inner beauty, and the sheer willpower to fight. As generations are born, Sapphire's story is handed down from one daughter to the next. As time passes, each female descendant will come to rely on the power that radiates from Sapphire's blood flowing through her veins.
―Reviewed by Thumper

The Wig
by Charles Wright
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/thewig.htm

The Wig, is hilariously funny and disgustingly sad at the same time. Imagine how ridiculous the thought of gold fingernails appeared in the 1960's. Or running past the police to avoid being stopped, while they are wearing buttons saying, "We are our brother's keepers," pretending to be your friend. However now, in the twenty first century, it is a picture-perfect glimpse of how predictable our destiny was, and of the society we have become.
―Reviewed by Linda Watkins

And on the Eighth Day She Rested
by J.D. Mason
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/ontheeighthday.htm

And On The Eighth Day She Rested caught me by surprise. I'm not ashamed to admit it. After the title and cover won me over, I was expecting a "U-Go-Girl!" book. Granted, there were a few "U-Go-Girl!"-ish moments, but the novel is not a "U-Go-Girl!" book. It is Ruth's story of surviving and living beyond her abusive marriage. Domestic violence wasn't a ploy, used to draw a reader in only to provide a poor imitation of a devastating social problem. Mason takes Ruth and I through the storm of rebuilding a life from the shattered pieces of a violent relationship. Ruth faced a few hurdles I hadn't anticipated.
―Reviewed by Thumper

Seed
by Mustafa Mutabaruka
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/seed.htm

Seed is a stunning, incredible masterpiece! I finished it in a complete open-mouth daze. The characters contain the traits such as depth, jagged edges and complexity that all memorable characters I love have. Seed is written in a sure voice, displays great knowledge about human nature, and is mercilessly truthful. The imaginative, risky and demanding structure provides the story with a solid, secure bottom. Because the story was emotionally moving and horrific, I struggled to keep my wits about me in order to appreciate the many dimensions of Seed.
―Reviewed by Thumper

Water Street
by Crystal E. Wilkinson
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/waterstreet.htm

Water Street is a small, intimate masterpiece. Wilkinson is a true artist creating, with a sturdy and graceful hand, lullabies without happy endings. She neither compromises nor dampens the raw emotional fallout, which keeps her tales and characters' authentic in their beauty and their agony. I have no problem placing Wilkinson's Water Street alongside Reginald McKnight's White Boys, J. California Cooper's Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime, Ernest Gaines' Bloodline, Christine Lincoln's Sap Rising, and my all-time favorite Langston Hughes' The Ways of White Folks. Water Street is a lyrical wonder I wouldn't mind visiting again and again.
―Reviewed by Thumper

Althea
by Linda Watkins
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/althea.htm

For Althea her troubles begin at the opening of the story when her mother's sister, Aunt Darnella, is brutally murdered by a group of white men and unceremoniously dumped a few blocks from her apartment in the mostly "white gaslight district of Cincinnati."  One of Althea's father's friends, Mr. Johnson explained Darnella's death saying that she was just too beautiful and full of joy. "She looked white, lived with the white and when they found out that she was colored, they couldn't stand it," he said.
―Reviewed by Leah Mullen

AALBC.com RECOMMENDS

Black Voices: An Anthology of African-American Literature
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451527828/aalbccom-20

Originally Published in 1968

Featuring poetry, fiction, autobiography and literary criticism, this is a comprehensive and vital collection featuring the work of the major black voices of a century. An unparalleled important classic anthology with timeless appeal.

Contributors include; Sterling Brown, Charles W. Chestnutt, John Henrik Clarke, Countee Cullen, Frederick Douglass, Paul Laurence Dunbar, James Weldon Johnson, Naomi Long Madgett, Paule Marshall, Clarence Major, Claude McKay, Ann Petry, Dudley Randall, J. Saunders Redding, Jean Toomer, Darwin T. Turner, James Baldwin, Lerone Bennett, Jr, Arna Bontemps, Rudolph Fisher and many others.

The Sisters of APF: The Indoctrination of Soror Ride Dick
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743466985/aalbccom-20

by Zane

The Sisters of APF is Zane's first book based on one of her most popular short story subjects, the sexy escapades of a sorority like no other.

APF stands for Alpha Phi Fuckem, a sorority dedicated to sexual freedom and the fulfillment of its members. Zane's APF stories have appeared in her earlier collections, including The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth, and are favorites among her readers.

Many readers have written to Zane and asked to join the sorority or to launch a new chapter in their region. APF is fantasy, but the enthusiasm of Zane's fans is real. So now, with The Sisters of APF, she's offering readers what they want, a book-length story chronicling the adventures -- and recruitment process -- of the fearlessly sexy women of APF.

Mary Ann is the daughter of a chicken farmer from South Dakota. She has never been more than fifty miles from home and has led a sheltered life. By the time she goes off to college in Washington, D.C., she has been intimate with only one man -- her high school sweetheart. The resident manager of Mary Ann's dormitory, Patricia, befriends the country bumpkin. She finds Mary Ann amusing, but also senses something intriguing about her, hidden under the surface. After Mary Ann becomes smitten with Trevor, the campus playboy, Patricia is determined to show Mary Ann how not to be a victim, but rather how to outdo the players and heartbreakers. She indoctrinates Mary Ann into the ranks of the sexiest secret society ever: the sisters of APF.

CHECK OUT THIS AUTHOR

Hope C. Clarke
http://authors.aalbc.com/hopecclarke.htm

RADIO INTERVIEWS OF AUTHORS ARCHIVED ON AALBC.com

A Round 2 It
http://aalbc.com/reviews/around2it.htm

Delores Thornton, the author of Anybody Seen Junebug?  and Ida Mae, is the host of the increasingly popular radio talk show, "A Round 2 It", on book crazy radio.  Ms. Thornton is making archives of her program available to AALBC.com visitors. 

The show spotlights African American authors and literary entrepreneurs. Thornton will also offer self publishing tips as well as marketing and promotional tidbits!  One of the first interviews to be archived is of AALBC.com's very own Thumper. Visit her page frequently as new authors are added

If you are interested in hearing other interviews check out Lee E. Meadow's radio interviews, from the late 1990's http://aalbc.com/reviews/wpon.htm.  Meadows interviewed a wide range of authors -- many at the beginning of their careers.  One of my favorite interviews is of J. California Cooper. 
 

LITERARY EVENTS CALENDAR
http://www.aalbc.com/events/

Our events calendar allows visitors to learn about up coming African American literary events. Visitors may even post their own events and include a link back to their web site. If you don't have a web site AALBC.com can build one for you; simply fill out the form on our web site at http://www.aalbc.com/events/

Here are just a few of the events planned around the country in the next few weeks:

Symphony Space presents E. Lynn Harris, on May 7 at 8 pm, in the theatre's literary series Selected Shorts:  A Celebration of the Short Story. Harris and co-editor Marita Golden will host an evening of stories from their terrific new collection Gumbo: An Anthology of African American Writing.  Actors Curtis McClarin (The Exonerated), Lillias White (Crowns) and Laurine Towler will read stories by Ravi Howard, David Haynes and Jewell Parker Rhodes.  Selected Shorts features great short stories read by Broadway and Hollywood's finest actors, and is recorded for later broadcast on NPR.

More information on Symphony Spaces 2003 Literary season is available at http://www.symphonyspace.org.  Symphony Space is located at 95th and Broadway.  Box office hours are Tues-Sun Noon-7 pm. Tickets are $21 and may be purchased in person at the box office, by phone at 212-864-5400, or on-line at http://www.symphonyspace.org.

GET PUBLISHED: A Hands-on, How-to Workshop for Aspiring Authors

Presented by New York is Book Country, in association with The New School Graduate Writing Program

Wednesday, May 14, 3:00-6:30pm
The New School, Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12th Street, New York City
Workshop fee: $95 (Students can purchase tickets at the door for $25 with student ID)

Access to Agents:
What are the secrets to getting your proposal read? Ask Brian DeFiore of DeFiore and Company, and Harvey Klinger of Harvey Klinger Inc.

Answers from Editors:
What are the latest trends that editors are interested in? Find out from Shaye Areheart, VP and Publisher of Harmony Books/Shaye Areheart Books; Mauro DiPreta, Executive Editor of William Morrow/HarperCollins; and Ayesha Pande, Senior Editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Advice from Authors:
How did they turn their dreams into their day jobs? Hear first-hand from Chris Bohjalian, author of Midwives; Ben Mezrich, author of Bringing Down the House; Lisa Dierbeck, author of One Pill Makes You Smaller.

Moderated by Daisy Maryles, Executive Editor of Publishers Weekly.

Visit www.nyisbookcountry.org or call 866.468.7619 for information and tickets.

AALBC.com is a proud member of the Harlem Book Fair Advisory Council

The Harlem Book Fair Celebrates Its 5th Anniversary - Save The Date!

The Harlem Book Fair
Sunday July 13 - Saturday, July 19, 2003

The Wheatley Book Awards: Friday, July 18
Street Fair: Saturday, July 19, 2003

This year's Harlem Book Fair begins on Sunday, July 13th with Real Men Write, a very special Sunday brunch hosted by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, featuring the sexiest writers in print.

The Annual Book Fair will take place Saturday, July 19, 2003. This, the largest book fair of its kind, is expected to draw more than 15,000 New Yorkers and visitors to West 135th Street (between Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevards in Harlem, New York), from 12 PM to 6 PM. Over 150 booths will be set up along West 135th Street, offering books, story-telling, readings, and opportunities to meet and greet authors on two stages that will feature spoken word poets, celebrities, and music throughout the day.

If you are interested in exhibiting, please download the Exhibitor Application found under the Exhibitor Information link and mail as soon as possible to QBR. If you are unable to download the application, please email your request to harlembookfair@aol.com. We will add you to our exhibitor mailing list.

AALBC.com is a proud member of the Harlem Book Fair Planning Committee
 

THE COFFEE WILL MAKE YOU BLACK ON-LINE READING GROUP 
http://thumperscorner.com/Reading_List.htm

May 2003 Selection

The Coffee Will Make You Black reading group is currently reading Grace by Elizabeth Nunez

"Extremely deserving of its title, this gorgeous, meditative book is a graceful rendering of one couple's journeys and explorations toward and away from each other. A moving love story, it shows us how a deferred dream can erode a marriage and how grace can sometimes put us to the test, even as it redeems."
―Edwidge Danticat

Our chat session is scheduled for Sunday, May 11th, 2003 at 6:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time. If you have already read Grace, and would like to participate in our on-line chat session; please join us in our chat room http://www.thumperscorner.com/chat/

Visit http://thumperscorner.com/Reading_List.htm to view the rest of The Coffee Will Make You Black on-line reading group's reading list for 2003
 

RELATED WEB SITES WORTH CHECKING OUT
 

Cushcity.com also has a retail store in Houston, Texas, located at 13559 Bammel N. Houston Rd., Houston, TX, which is in the Northwest part of Houston, near FM 1960 and Veterans Memorial.

The Black Think Tank
http://www.blackthinktank.com

Founded January 21, 1979, The Black Think Tank has enjoyed a position on the cutting edge of black social change and progress. The official founding of The Black Think Tank followed upon the trailblazing participation of some of its members in the birth of black studies on the American campus.

Peace, 
Troy Johnson, 
Founder AALBC.com