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Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story
Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story Robert Fleming Book Review Jazz is dead! If you believe that mess, you must not listen to radio or read any of the mainstream media. Howeve...
Digging
Digging Robert Fleming Book Review The literary legacy of award-winning writer and poet Amiri Baraka continues to thrive as he releases another new book, Digging: The Afro-American Soul Of ...
Q: The Autobio of Quincy Jones
Q: The Autobio of Quincy Jones Paige Turner Book Review The new book, Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones reads almost like a fable or a fairy tale. The young Quincy Jones, with his twinkly eyes, wa...
Fearless Jones
Fearless Jones Thumper Book Review After 5 years, Walter Mosley has returned to the mystery scene with a new pair of crime solvers for his novel Fearless Jones. It’s as if Mosley had never said...
The Boys of Baraka
The Boys of Baraka Kam Williams the_bo3.jpg Film Review Kenya as Alternative to Mean Streets of Baltimore The Boys of Baraka Directed by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady Genre: Documentary Runtime: 8...
An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones
An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones Brenda M. Greene Book Review Wendy Jones has written a tribute to her late mother Josephine E. Jones. Her mother was part of the Great Migration, depicted so...
The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones
The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones Carol Taylor Book Review The Culinary Art Portfolio is neither a cookbook nor a how-to-book. It’s a portfolio, with ready- to-frame prints of th...
Run Toward Fear
Run Toward Fear Rondall Brasher Book Review This book is actually done in two parts. The first is a collection of personal poems. The second part is forty pieces of advice for poets who wanted to k...
Butter: Novellas, Stories, and Fragments
Butter: Novellas, Stories, and Fragments Robert Fleming Book Review Recently, I received a letter from lit legend Gayl Jones, saying that she wasn’t writing anymore. Discovered by iconic editor...
Story/Time: The Life of an Idea
Story/Time: The Life of an Idea Kam Williams Book Review “In this ceaselessly questioning book, acclaimed African-American dancer, choreographer and director Bill T. Jones reflects on his art...
How We Fight for Our Lives
How We Fight for Our Lives Brianna-Christine Alicea Book Review As a recipient of the Pushcart Prize, and fellowships from Cave Canem and Queer/Art/Mentorship, Saeed Jones is a poet and the author of...
Duende
Duende Robert Fleming Book Review Poet Quincy Troupe’s literary magic has elevated him to the forefront of modern American writers. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he, the son of a catcher in the ...
Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor
Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor Kam Williams Book Review ‘Hokum is my chance to recognize and thank the black upper-, middle-, low-, and no-class clown for being more than comic...
Palmares
Palmares Robert Fleming Book Review No less than the esteemed late novelist Toni Morrison, the chief editorial gatekeeper of Random House, was stunned by the narrative power of Gayl Jones’ firs...
The Birdcatcher
The Birdcatcher Robert Fleming Book Review What the iconic African-American writer James Baldwin once told the young writers about the traditional stature of the prominent writers who put pen to pape...
The Bridge
The Bridge Thumper Book Review The Bridge, the second novel by Solomon Jones, should blow open the doors that his debut novel, Pipe Dreams did not. I am getting excited simply remembering the book ...
Selected Poems of Calvin C. Hernton
Selected Poems of Calvin C. Hernton Robert Fleming Book Review Back in the day, Calvin C. Hernton, a poet, scholar, and essayist, was considered a literary maverick, an outspoken advocate of truth-te...
Culture Worrier: Selected Columns 1984—2014: Reflections on Race
Culture Worrier: Selected Columns 1984—2014: Reflections on Race Kam Williams Book Review “These pages represent some of the valuable lessons I’ve learned about people and media over t...
Consumed…
Consumed… Jacqueline Jones LaMon Book Review AALBC.com review by Jacqueline Jones LaMon I firmly believe that there are no coincidences in this life, that we are presented with that which is f...
Leaving Atlanta
Leaving Atlanta Thumper Book Review Tayari Jones enters the literary scene with Leaving Atlanta, a novel that takes place in 1979 Atlanta, Georgia during what came to be known as the Atlanta Child ...
Dona Julia
Dona Julia Rondall Brasher Book Review Do’a Julia and Other Selected Poems" by Alberto O. Cappas is written with tremendous amount of pride. It is a book that comes from the heart of a man...
Love Bones: A Collection of Poetry
Love Bones: A Collection of Poetry Robert Fleming Book Review Love seems to be the emotional fuel for all forms of popular expression. This book’s author, Ronald Oliphant, knows firsthand ...
Black Swan
Black Swan Rondall Brasher Book Review When Poetry Takes Wing Black Swan by Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon was published in 2002. This lapse of time annoys me because I somehow missed this rare "lot...
No Surrender
No Surrender Robert Fleming Book Review When news reached me about the death of renowned poetess, Ai, I knew that I must write something about her and her unwavering lyrical examination of the hu...
Long Train…
Long Train… Jacqueline Jones LaMon Book Review One of the magical qualities of reading is that we are transported from who we are and all that we know to be true into other realms. We are intr...
Femme du Monde
Femme du Monde Tara Betts Book Review Spears Jones’ second collection Femme du Monde does not simply unfold the artful experiences of a woman who has traveled and soaked up the internatio...
Ingleside: Based on a True Story
Ingleside: Based on a True Story Robert Fleming Book Review As a former veteran newspaper reporter on the crime beat, I can smell a homicide when it’s authentic and this book is bursting at the...
Confessions of a Call Girl
Confessions of a Call Girl Kam Williams confes55.jpg Film Review Tamala Jones Plays Conflicted Title Character in Kinky Blaxploitation Flick Confessions of a Call Girl Click to ...
Detropia
Detropia Kam Williams detropia.jpg Film Review Cautionary Exposé Warns of Detroit’s Impending Demise Detropia [2012] - Film Review In Theaters: Sep 5, 2012 Limited Unrated Documentary D...
Russell Atkins: On the Life & Work of an American Master
Russell Atkins: On the Life & Work of an American Master Robert Fleming Book Review This is an astounding tribute to one of the most innovative American artists, Russell Atkins, by a small, indepe...
Forever Sentimental
Forever Sentimental Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Ohio Poet, Kenyatta is a man of many words. His book Forever Sentimental-AGAPE LOVE is Volume Three in the Forever Sentimental book s...
Poetic Perceptions
Poetic Perceptions Robert Fleming Book Review Some African-American critics yearn for a return to the fire and passion of the revolutionary fervor of the 1960s Black Arts Movement, but there are ...
Phenomenally Me
Phenomenally Me Chris Hayden Book Review In a dark room with a blue light In the basement, music just right Nothing going down but the Mellow sounds of Mr. DJ’s turntables Going round" Boyz...
Oxford Anth. of African-American Poetry
Oxford Anth. of African-American Poetry Kam Williams Book Review ’I’ve known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.’ ’ Excerpted from Th...
Breaking The Blank
Breaking The Blank Eryka Parker Book Review If poetry is an artful expression of the soul, the creators of Breaking the Blank understood the assignment. This compelling literary work proudly speaks o...
Why Men Fear Marriage
Why Men Fear Marriage Mel Hopkins Book Review WANTED: “Single Women” In 2050, women internment camps populate the Pacific coastline. This housing once reserved for Japanese Americans...
Come on People
Come on People Kam Williams Book Review "For the last three and a half years, I have been holding community call-outs in cities around the country… This book will cover selec...
Role Call
Role Call Rondall Brasher Book Review I encounter many literary anthologies that try to appease my appetite for new talent. But most of them fall short of their mark, and few of these collections ar...
Memoir: Delaware County Prison
Memoir: Delaware County Prison Thumper Book Review Memoir: Delaware County Prison by Reginald L. Hall is a non-fiction account of the eight months Hall, an openly gay man, spent in prison for credit...
Bill Clinton and Black America
Bill Clinton and Black America Walter Benefield Book Review Bill Clinton came to the presidency of the United States inheriting a less than admirable race relations history from his predecessors. Wha...
I Am New Orleans
I Am New Orleans Robert Fleming Book Review American poet, author, filmmaker, and teacher Kalamu ya Salaam, a leading citizen of New Orleans’s 9th Ward, has always been a booster for the Cresce...
Zero Dark Thirty
Zero Dark Thirty Kam Williams zero-dark-thirty-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Riveting Docudrama Recounts International Manhunt for Bin Laden Zero Dark Thirty (2012) In Theaters: Dec 19, 20...
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Beasts of the Southern Wild Kam Williams beasts-of-the-southern-wild.jpg Film Review Carefree Cherub Laments Climate Change in Enchanting Cautionary Parable Beasts of the Southern Wild In Theaters: ...
White Coat Fever
White Coat Fever Thumper Book Review Roland S. Jefferson, author of the classic The School on 103rd Street, is back on the scene with his latest novel, White Coat Fever. The title of the novel is...
When Frogs Grow Feet: The Un-Aborted Are Alive and Well
When Frogs Grow Feet: The Un-Aborted Are Alive and Well Robert Fleming Book Review While When Frogs Grow Feet’s blurb links its juicy contents to Henry Miller’s classic wanton tale, Tro...
Through The Storm
Through The Storm Linda Watkins Book Review Coming of age is no easy feat. I think everyone still cringes at mistakes made as teenagers, which came from not listening to words of wisdom from mom and...
Walking Among The Kudzu
Walking Among The Kudzu Emanuel Carpenter Book Review In H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson's latest book, "Walking Among the Kudzu," readers are taken on the journey of the life of Shelby ...
The Lazarus Parable: A Revelation for the 21st Century
The Lazarus Parable: A Revelation for the 21st Century Connie Bradley Book Review The Lazarus Parable by John C. Bonner is an apocalyptic tale which chronicles what the future holds for the planet ...
A Distant Shore
A Distant Shore Linda Watkins Book Review Caryl Phillips may have out done himself with his newest novel, A Distant Shore. It is in my opinion one of the most accomplished works I have read this ye...
Mama Dearest
Mama Dearest Thumper Book Review As many of you know, Mama Dearest is the last book written by E. Lynn Harris. I was a fan of Harris’s during the Invisible Life days and a few books ...
The Root of All Evil
The Root of All Evil Lawrence Brown Book Review Just as many African-American readers have started to complain about the lack of depth in of Black Literature, complaining about the all-too-familiar p...
Every Man a King
Every Man a King Robert Fleming Book Review For those who love the creators of the hard-boiled private dicks from the 1930s such as Dashiell Hammett, James Cain, and Raymond Chandler, Walter Mosley&r...
Princes of the Road
Princes of the Road Emanuel Carpenter Book Review In David Covin’s Princes of the Road, the author transports readers to the 1930s of America, where Jim Crow and racism ruled. The central cha...
The Known World
The Known World Thumper Book Review As is becoming an unbreakable and pleasurable yearly excursion, I attended the 2003 Book Expo America (BEA) in Los Angeles. I love the BEA. The convention is all...
The Black Dancing Body
The Black Dancing Body Rondall Brasher Book Review This book actually came to my attention last month on the home page of African American Literature Book Club. Troy had it in the revolving new titl...
King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis
King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis Kam Williams king-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Oscar-Nominated, 1970 Documentary Chronicling Career of Dr. Martin Luther King Returns to Theaters King: ...
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins Kam Williams nicole20.jpg Film Review Egotistical Talk-Show Host Humbled at Crass Family Reunion The Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins Click to or...
Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010)
Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010) Kam Williams images/why%20did%20I%20get%20married%202.jpg Film Review Why Did I Get Married Too (2010) Click to Order via Amazon Rated PG-13 for m...
The Wood
The Wood Kam Williams images/thewoo35.jpg Film Review THE WOOD Paramount Director - Rick Famuyiwa Starring - Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones, Taye Diggs Comedy 112 min Rated R So-called "urban&...
Butterfly Rising
Butterfly Rising Troy Johnson images/tanya_wright.jpg Film Review A Letter from Tanya Wright Tanya Wright author/writer/director, BUTTERFLY RISING My name is Tanya Wright. I am an actress...
Soul Poems for My Sistas
Soul Poems for My Sistas Felicia Pride Book Review Poetry is one literary form that far too many attempt with the misguided notion that it is easy to write. Between the length or the ability...
Come Joy!
Come Joy! Idrissa Uqdah Book Review From reading only the first four poems in this collection; I knew I was on to something wonderful. Come Joy, Songs From The Soft of Night by Bridgette Alyce Grea...
i see through eyes
i see through eyes Kalamu ya Salaam Book Review Eric Payne is not ready to publish a book a poetry’but, on the other hand, the 21st century is a new time. If a person believes they are a poet a...
My Lovely Golden Rose: A Lifetime Of Poetic Reflections and Precious Memories
My Lovely Golden Rose: A Lifetime Of Poetic Reflections and Precious Memories Carol Taylor Book Review My Lovely Golden Rose is a poetry and poetic prose collection of Carrolyn Pichet’s pers...
Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea
Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea Linda Watkins Book Review Everyone knows that poetry is opinionated, subjective and sometimes downright confusing. I was delighted to find that the problem of comprehensi...
Motion Sickness
Motion Sickness RAWSISTAZ Book Review Terry O’Neal shares her collection of poetry in her first book entitled Motion Sickness. It is a compilation of poems that range in topics including ...
Baring My Soul
Baring My Soul Rondall Brasher Book Review I have just finished a collection of poems called Baring My Soul by Stacey Renee Tolbert aka "The Brown Suga Poet". It was my first introduction ...
The Lurking Place
The Lurking Place Robert Fleming Book Review Veteran writer Clarence Major’s literary career continues full speed. His latest novel, The Lurking Place, rates among his best, using an experience...
Victory Is Assured
Victory Is Assured Robert Fleming Book Review Larger than life, controversial scribe Stanley Crouch loved to throw shade, raise hell, and put himself laughingly in the crosshairs. In the golden age o...
Burial Ground
Burial Ground Eryka Parker Book Review I recently spent time diving into the pages of Burial Ground, a collection of poetry by Glenda R. Taylor. The ethereal cover and enticing description sucked me ...
The Collected Poems of Nikki Giovanni
The Collected Poems of Nikki Giovanni Rondall Brasher Book Review The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni has been grafted to my hands for the last 3 weeks. This anthology is the chronological atlas...
Glorious
Glorious Idrissa Uqdah Book Review Bernice McFadden’s long awaited release, is pure poetry. This novel sings to you through the eyes of Easter Bartlett who runs away as a young girl when ...
21 Nights by Prince
21 Nights by Prince Thumper Book Review My number one is Aretha Franklin. Aretha Franklin is my favorite artist of all times. When I was 13 years old, her album, I Never Loved a Man, save...
Wonderful Ethiopians of the Ancient Cushite Empire
Wonderful Ethiopians of the Ancient Cushite Empire Kam Williams Book Review ’Arguably, Drusilla Dunjee Houston was one of the most important African-American women writers of the 20th Centu...
Better Than Alright: Finding Peace
Better Than Alright: Finding Peace Kam Williams Book Review “I can’t believe someone found my journey interesting enough to want to put it in a book…Being on display as an artist...
Likeness of Being
Likeness of Being Jamie Walker Book Review In Likeness of Being: A Poetic Look at Friends and Strangers, poet Nathan M. Richardson offers readers an invitation to his soulful, Southern roots. Full ...
It’s All Love
It’s All Love Robert Fleming Book Review If there is a commodity that is seriously misunderstood in our community, it is the emotion of love which binds us to each other. Marita Golden, a p...
Jelly Roll: A Blues
Jelly Roll: A Blues Rondall Brasher Book Review I preface this review by saying that I am an avid fan of the Blues. So, when someone comes along and captures the unmistakable feeling that comes w...
Jelly Roll: A Blues
Jelly Roll: A Blues Rondall Brasher Book Review Please allow me to set off the mood of this review by quoting one of my favorite Blues songs: I’ve been downhearted baby Ever since th...
It Begins With Tears
It Begins With Tears Akilah Monifa Book Review From Montego Bay (a.k.a. MoBay), Jamaica to Manhattan with visits in Brooklyn, Kristoff Valley, Jamaica, and Eternal Valley, Opal Palmer Adisa&rsquo...
Heart and Soul: Poems of Thoughts & Emotions
Heart and Soul: Poems of Thoughts & Emotions V.S. Chochezi Book Review Masterful New Poetry Collection for Sipping or Gulping My observation has been that many wine drinkers tend to have a wide ar...
A Fortune for Your Disaster
A Fortune for Your Disaster Brianna-Christine Alicea Book Review A Fortune for Your Disaster is a powerful, resonant poetry collection about forgiveness and grappling with physical and emotional viol...
Syncope
Syncope Brianna-Christine Alicea Book Review As a third-grade poet teacher, an author, and as a leader for an English conversation group for immigrants, Wadud is involved with her community. She is a...
The Prime Anniversary
The Prime Anniversary Brianna-Christine Alicea Book Review Jay Wright is an acclaimed poet, essayist, and playwright. Wright is the author of several collections of poetry, which include but are not ...
Thank You, Omu!
Thank You, Omu! Neoma Nwasike Book Review How important is community to you? Is it at the epicenter of your heart, and do the people who make up your unique and wonderful community, allow you to thri...
A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks
A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks Neoma Nwasike Book Review Gwendolyn Brooks was a very influential African American poet who became the first Black writer to win a Pulitzer Prize award (Poetry). In the ch...
Blind Light
Blind Light Carol Taylor Book Review In 2001, visionary social justice advocate, Glenda R. Taylor was struck with a potentially devastating illness that took most of her sight. Instead of retreating ...
Salmon Croquettes
Salmon Croquettes Tony Lindsay Book Review Salmon Croquettes is a debut novel rich in prose. The book is loaded with purposeful dialogue and heartwarming descriptive scenes. The novel’s authent...
Blend In or Fade Out: A Memoir
Blend In or Fade Out: A Memoir Robert Fleming Book Review The main theme of identity takes center stage in Colnese M. Herndon’s emotional riveting memoir, Blend In Or Fade Out, as the writer in...
In Trembling Boldness: Wisdom for Today from Ancient Jesus People
In Trembling Boldness: Wisdom for Today from Ancient Jesus People Denolyn Carroll Book Review The book In Trembling Boldness: Wisdom for Today from Ancient Jesus People brings us newly discovered wri...
Gathering Blossoms Under Fire
Gathering Blossoms Under Fire Robert Fleming Book Review Nobody will find the controversial writer, Alice Walker neutral, because of her fierce, unorthodox views. As an award-winning novelist, essayi...
A2: A Scholarly Poetical Science Discourse
A2: A Scholarly Poetical Science Discourse Ahmad Wright Book Review Afrocentric themes find themselves cast through an academic lens of creativity, analysis, and cultural criticism in this revised, s...
My Hair Can
My Hair Can Shaundale Rénā Book Review Profoundly inspiring, My Hair Can is a picture book full of wit and charm. Each page is vibrant and affirms joy and positivity for little Black boys and girls a...
Veracity and Verse
Veracity and Verse Denolyn Carroll Book Review “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. This vision is for...
Rainbow in the Cloud: The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou
Rainbow in the Cloud: The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou Kam Williams Book Review “‘Words mean more than what is set down on paper,’ Maya Angelou wrote in her groundbreaking m...
Chike and the River
Chike and the River Kam Williams Book Review Book Review by Kam Williams "Chike was now 11 years-old, and he had never left his village. Then one day his mother told him that he would be going to ...
Lost in Language & Sound: Or How I Found My Way to the Arts: Essays
Lost in Language & Sound: Or How I Found My Way to the Arts: Essays Alvin Romer Book Review Poetry and prose if presented and mixed well with a demonstrative esthetic can work wonders for anyone try...
Transforming Pain to Power: Unlock Your Unlimited Potential
Transforming Pain to Power: Unlock Your Unlimited Potential Kam Williams Book Review “I grew up in Dayton, Ohio in a home scarred by addiction and incarceration. For most of my childhood&hell...
Thru My Eyes
Thru My Eyes Kam Williams Book Review ’Growing up in Iran, I had often heard of dervishes, people who possess a dynamic, heightened sense of awareness. Much like the shaman or the prophet, th...
Louder Than a Bomb
Louder Than a Bomb Kam Williams louder_than_a_bomb.jpg Film Review DVD Chronicles Chicago Poetry Slam Louder Than a Bomb [2011] Click to order via Amazon DVD Release Date: March 20, 2012 Directors:...