Troy

There is an audience for Black stories, from both Black and white readers. The problem is we are so slavishly devoted to what white people validate, whether it is being selected to be reviewed by the NY Times, published by one of the foreign owned conglomerates, being stocked on the shelves of their stores, or making one of their bestsellers lists. These folks are in the business of making money, they are going to target the biggest audience--and it ain't us. So if we want these types of books to be published we have to support the institutions--everything from the authors to the bookseller.

Award winning author, Marlon James says, as reported in The Guardian's article: 'Writers of colour pander to the white woman' The 2015 Man Booker prize winner Marlon James has slammed the publishing world, saying authors of colour too often “pander to white women” to sell books, and that he could have been published more often if he had written “middle-style prose and private ennui”. At a sold-out Guardian event on Friday night, James said publishers too often sought fiction that “panders to that archetype of the white woman, that long-suffering, astringent prose set in suburbia. You know, ‘older mother or wife sits down and thinks about her horrible life’.” Women, particularly white women, make up the vast majority of regular fiction readers, purchasing two thirds of all books sold in the UK. Almost 50% of women classify themselves as avid readers, compared to 26% of men. (read the rest of the article) ----------- From facebook Marlon James November 25, 2015 · So I'm still unpacking Claire Vaye Watkins' potentially game changing essay, "On Pandering," going almost a section per day. What I'm thinking so far: that while she recognizes how much she was pandering to the white man, we writers of colour spend way too much of our lives pandering to the white woman. I've mentioned this before, how there is such a thing as "the critically acclaimed story." You see it occasionally in certain highbrow magazines and journals. Astringent, observed, clipped, wallowing in its own middle-style prose and private ennui, porn for certain publications. And I knew from early on how to write the kind of story that would get published. Honestly, had I followed that formula (or style?) if I pandered to a cultural tone set by white women, particular older white female critics, I would have had 10 stories published by now. There's an award that I have been a finalist for, more than once, and in both situations I was the only person who knew that I wouldn't win. I looked at the winner and I look at the judges and both followed exactly the same aesthetic. And looked the same as well. I knew right there, what they were looking for in a book and I knew the winner fulfilled it with flying colours, even if it wasn't that great a book. The last contest I judged, the initial favourite was yet again, "bored suburban white woman in the middle of ennui, experiences keenly observed epiphany." And though we'll never admit it, every writer of colour knows that they stand a higher chance of getting published if they write this kind of story. We just do. Anyway, still reading. Like Share Maaza Mengiste, Lara Stapleton, Jeffery Renard Allen and 462 others like this. 43 comments 69 shares Comments Robert Garland Wow. It is pretty much the same creating work and working in my field, ballet. White woman basically run things, although top leadership is predominantly male. In spite of this most casting and artistic discussion happens underneath the top layer, which is predominantly white and female. That, by far, is the real accomplishment of Misty Copeland in that environment. Like · 16 · November 25, 2015 at 6:18am Marie Mockett Loathed this essay on my first three passes and was mystified by why it's affecting so many. Still digesting. I mean sure....no to pandering. But so much of this,.. The whining over being pregnant and having nothing...so in relatable. Like · 6 · November 25, 2015 at 7:19am Joanna Rakoff replied · 3 Replies Marguerite Orane I meet them in the dozens in my writing classes Like · 1 · November 25, 2015 at 7:31am Raj A Iype An astringent commentary on the state of affairs Sir. Like · 2 · November 25, 2015 at 7:54am Mark Wisniewski Wow. & as I read this I kept thinking: If he'd posted this before having won the Man Booker, he'd have been committing literary suicide. Like · 13 · November 25, 2015 at 7:55am Court Merrigan Nah. That book stands on its own merits. Like · 1 · November 25, 2015 at 10:28am Swati Khurana The invisible cloak of whiteness allows the writer to not wince while smoking a joint at a hotel pool (acknowledged), and to write things like "Burn the motherfucker down." (unacknowledged) I wouldn't, couldn't, write that because I don't want to get deported and my brother to get on a no-fly list. Thank you, Marlon James for saying things that so many of us can't. Like · 37 · November 25, 2015 at 8:20am · Edited Annie Paul saved that essay to read...this discussion makes me want to dive into it immediately smile emoticon Like · 1 · November 25, 2015 at 8:26am Christine Amor replied · 3 Replies Marlon James And as someone occasionally monitored by Dept. Of Homeland Security, I know exactly what you're talking about, Swati Khurana. Like · 20 · November 25, 2015 at 8:29am John Domini Dibs on: "Astringent, observed, clipped, wallowing in its own middle-style prose and private ennui, porn for certain publications." As for Watkins' essay, certainly Stephen Elliott proved himself nothing less than abhorrent. Like · 6 · November 25, 2015 at 8:44am Annie Paul hmmm can't access it...link doesn't work, tried several times, wonder if the essay was taken down? Like · November 25, 2015 at 8:47am Annie Paul replied · 2 Replies Porochista Khakpour I tried to address these issues and more in sort of sidebar Twitter essay. It was upsetting for me to read this essay on several levels. All very personal. Like · 6 · November 25, 2015 at 8:54am Porochista Khakpour (^ all personal, and don't know if that's a disclaimer or something I wish I could be proud of. My opinions, my work should matter, I would hope you right? But hard to even digest that. Esp as it got some support but comes in between seemingly endless hate mail about being a brown woman from a Muslim culture who should go back where I came from.) Like · 7 · November 25, 2015 at 8:57am Porochista Khakpour replied · 5 Replies Jana Bent OK so what about finding the backers & launching literary awards that celebrate the content that we want? Uniting and seeking the organizations that have the power to back and promote a literary award that celebrates and reflects our experiences? What's the first step in pulling that together? Like · 3 · November 25, 2015 at 9:06am Marie Mockett replied · 3 Replies Kathleen Warnock I know what you mean. In theater, the preponderance of work seen in mainstream houses is by white men; the 27% that's not (there was just an entire issue of The Dramatist that was devoted to a study called the Count that qualified these figures) is by ...See More Like · 1 · November 25, 2015 at 9:42am Annie Paul yup its down. see tweet: Claire Vaye Watkins @clairevaye .@Tin_House site back soon, I'm sure. Meanwhile, consider subscribing to TH. "On Pandering" is in the current issue + print never crashes. Like · November 25, 2015 at 9:51am Annie Paul replied · 2 Replies Sabrina McLaughlin "bored suburban white woman in the middle of ennui, experiences keenly observed epiphany." sounds very boring to me. Also happy belated birthday! Like · 4 · November 25, 2015 at 9:51am Sabrina McLaughlin replied · 2 Replies Robb Forman Dew Your comment is sufficiently insulting and offensive to all women writers--who have a hard enough time as it is--that you need to name the writer or writers, those bored white elderly women, whose writing you think of as "porn for certain magazines." Otherwise you're simply sounding grandiose, whiny, petulant and like you're about fifteen years old. Like · 8 · November 25, 2015 at 9:58am Lara Stapleton replied · 16 Replies Jon Anderson I am in the process of renewing my acquaintance with American lit, and I have noticed a preponderance of stories that fit this bill: "Astringent, observed, clipped, wallowing in its own middle-style prose and private ennui" -- and, at least when it co...See More Like · 7 · November 25, 2015 at 10:13am Terese Svoboda there aren't a lot of people with courage Like · 5 · November 25, 2015 at 10:14am Julia Brown So grateful for this thread. Like · 4 · November 25, 2015 at 10:20am Ifeona Fulani None of the critique in Watkins' essay is new - it's 80s literary feminist criticism reproduced for a younger generation. But the fact that it's such a revelation to many indicates how little has changed; women are still being trained to read and writ...See More Like · 38 · November 25, 2015 at 10:29am · Edited Sabra Wineteer replied · 3 Replies Kaitlyn Greenidge I think the root of it is fear--fear that if you start recognizing stories that don't fit this mold, then how can you tell when anything is actually *good*? It was a shock when I started thinking about publishing what I wrote and realized that there ar...See More Like · 16 · November 25, 2015 at 10:33am Court Merrigan I think the endless and dull stories of the "bored suburban white woman in the middle of ennui, experiences keenly observed epiphany" are the end product of a certain privileged, consumerist culture that has consumed itself into nothing, and now strive...See More Like · 10 · November 25, 2015 at 10:38am Court Merrigan replied · 2 Replies Carolyn Kellogg Not all white female critics want to read Marilynne Robinson, Alice Munro et al. Some of us much prefer the work of Marlon James. Like · 9 · November 25, 2015 at 10:57am Rose Bunch It is why you can can read two years worth of the New Yorker and only remember maybe one of the stories a week later. Like · 9 · November 25, 2015 at 3:28pm · Edited Court Merrigan replied · 1 Reply Emma Emma Emma Torzs White women are the next white men frown emoticon Like · 4 · November 25, 2015 at 11:33am Fragano Ledgister replied · 1 Reply Christian Campbell Listening. Like · 2 · November 25, 2015 at 12:22pm Lorraine Adams I don't write like those women. I will never write like those women. And I have never been published in the New Yorker, which champions that vaguely dissatisfied in Connecticut short story. And I don't give a rat's ass. Like · 4 · November 25, 2015 at 12:30pm Christine Amor replied · 3 Replies Marie Mockett It is a truth universally acknowledged that an essay like this must use the battle rousing word "fuck" somewhere, preferably toward the end, which this does. What mystifies me is that it does not suggest that people "on the periphery" become powerful t...See More Like · 4 · November 25, 2015 at 1:10pm Zoe FitzGerald Carter Not to sound like a bitter white woman, but all the fans of yours I have met Marlon could, roughly speaking, be categorized as "bored, suburban white women." Just sayin. Like · 2 · November 25, 2015 at 2:03pm Melissa Chadburn Okay I just read it the whole way through and I will say this: You both have points. I mean I have forever said that Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower blows McCarthy's The Road completely out of the water. I will also say this narrative you speak of "bored suburban white woman in the middle of ennui, experiences keenly observed epiphany" still stints the relationship of women to power, still supports the patriarchy. I think the first gates are guarded by white men—editors, and it's they who choose to saturate the market with these quiet domestic stories. I'm thinking now also of Otessa Moshfegh's craft essay, How To Shit. Where she speaks of the fact that we can write the thing that sells but what about creating that hell raising shit that hammers at our insides. The art? It's a choice we make. Those of us who are bold enough to make it. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us. Like · 13 · November 25, 2015 at 2:53pm · Edited Marlon James Just in case anybody missed my response to the four accusations levelled above, (insulting, offensive, sexist and racist) here is what I had to say: I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm being insulting or offensive or racist at all, and I'm mystified by the criticism. Maybe a quick survey of writers of colour would provide some of the revelations that we take for granted, but I'm just relaying conversations I've had countless times with writers of colour and everyone in tune with the narrow opportunities for us in this industry. That includes women, some of them white who know exactly what I'm talking about and fight against it— with even the works they publish from white women. But again I'm puzzled by the accusation of sexism and racism, because by that extension, you are also saying that the 153 women who liked this status and the over two dozen who shared it, also share sexist and racists views. Either that or we all have a warped delusion of the world of letters. You're going to have to tell all 251 of us in total (including quite a few white women) how is it that we are so offensively wrong, but you're right. I also question your use of the royal "all" in your reference to women, which seems like a generalization that other women have not allowed you to make. Like · 14 · November 25, 2015 at 5:27pm · Edited Marlon James Also just in case we have also missed this, white women have also had to pander to a narrow definition of the white female experience, and the expectation of the white female writer (experiential!!) and they are sick of this shit too. Like · 42 · November 25, 2015 at 4:56pm Marie Mockett replied · 11 Replies Christine Amor Like many (most?) stereotypes, this one comes to us from the world of marketing. squint emoticon Like · November 25, 2015 at 5:14pm Marlon James I can also guarantee you, Robb that none of the women I know in this thread are the "sycophants," you've called them on yours. Time to re-evaluate sexist. Like · 2 · November 25, 2015 at 5:56pm Morowa Yejide Stating the obvious... but thanks..... Like · 1 · November 25, 2015 at 6:26pm Morowa Yejide replied · 4 Replies Robb Forman Dew Who are the women writers you are talking about, Marlon? Like · 2 · November 25, 2015 at 7:07pm Jeneille Lewis I would never read those kind of stories...and I'm so thankful that you're not writing them. To this day Marlon...you're the only writer whose books I (1) Pre-order (2) Get in Multiple copies (because friends give friends books) and (3) purchase in hardcover, paperback AND e-book. Like · 1 · November 25, 2015 at 7:10pm Marlon James Robb, I honestly don't think you're getting the point, despite me and Anisse explaining it over and over. I'm not attacking any white woman, and certainly not older for that matter since Nadine Gordimer's writing for example, would never have fit that ...See More Like · 17 · November 26, 2015 at 2:54am · Edited Anisse Gross Is there an open bar on this thread anywhere? I need a drink. Like · 19 · November 25, 2015 at 10:05pm Robb Forman Dew replied · 1 Reply Robb Forman Dew Marlon, I do see that you've always been a champion of women writers, that's why I was so hurt to find myself apparently being attacked because I'm white and elderly. I have had to fight those battles since I was eighteen, simply to be heard at all, an...See More Like · 7 · November 26, 2015 at 8:37am Robb Forman Dew replied · 2 Replies Christine Amor Does anybody else realise that if vacuous drivel was all that got published, we wouldn't be having this conversation? If all publishers, at all times, stuck to the formula, who would have published Marlon's work? Like · 2 · November 26, 2015 at 9:40am Joseph Pravda epiphany101: great writing is unteachable, editors be damned Like · 3 · November 26, 2015 at 12:22pm ------------ The idea Marlon's remarks comes as a revelation to anyone, other than perhaps white women is astonishing.

Hi Shirley your ad has been setup. It will run until midnight, February 26th. The winter (save the week between Xmas and Jan 1st), and the spring are the busiest time of the year for the website. I'm glad to read some of the exchange regarding the publishing process. It is so easy to be taken. I see people promise writers the world in various aspects of the business, because it is what they want to hear. For example, if I told people that they will sell a bazillion copies of their books with an advertisement on this website and I can get their money. I don't have to worry about them again because there will always be another mark and folks don't effectively share information. The reality is, that if authors/publishers don't advertise and promote their books they definitely won't sell very many books. Even with advertising the likelihood of making a lot of money is slim. So from the seller's perspective, it makes business sense to sell hope rather than reality. The reality is selling books is hard. I'm going to be hosting a publishing seminar during the National Black Writers Conference this spring and plan to get into this stuff from a practical perspective. I plan to video tape the seminar. Chris, that was one of the videos I want to use Youtube to charge folks to view, but at the rate I'm going I won't have the subscribers (still need 231 subscribers). of course their are other ways to do this without YouTube and i will take advantage of one of those.

@Shirley Gale I'm pretty sure the problem with part three is the Em Dash "—" you are pasting in the title. If you type the title by hand (or remove the em dash before pasting) you'll be fine. You can paste the text into the body of your post. Yeah Chris I don't even bother with Google you really need some serious paper IMHO to make an impact. I've stopped advertising on Facebook for the reasons we discussed. I find with some cooperation from others on Facebook you don't need to advertise. The sharing by others is much more effective. The advantage of AALBC.com is that it is a book site, people who come here are already looking for books, so the ads are not really ads, they are content. Which is why the click through rates are orders of magnitude higher that what you will get via social media.

I just upgraded the development site to include all of these award winning books, author bios, book description videos and more: http://aalbc.org/books/gaines-award-winning-books.php

Just updated the new site to include these awards: http://aalbc.org/books/gaines-award-winning-books.php

@Shirley Gale, Google can be a good way to advertise, but like everything else Google, it is not simple. You'd be best served getting to know they Keyword Tool. For example, there are no searches on "Children's Books on Mermaids" on Google, but "books about mermaids" get about 320 searches a month. and cost $0.41 per click, but are the people who click you ad looking for children's books--with Black characters? It is an art and science using Google. Try Post number 3 again, I can move it but it be better if it was posted under your name. If you have a problem let try to describe exactly what is happening. I was not familiar with Archway, but when I saw the S&S connection I did not exactly get a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Only 2 of the 6 positions are still available. Orders have come in from; Monroeville, PA; Danbury, CT; Southfield, MI; and Franklin, TN. Hi @Shirley Gale as assumed nothing will be shipped.

Jan. 5, 2016 Contact: Lois Smyth, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, lsmyth@braf.org, (225) 387-6126 Susan Polowczuk, Zehnder Communications, susanp@z-comm.com, (225) 448-0760 Gaines Award Ceremony Set for Jan. 21 at Manship Theatre Acclaimed Author T. Geronimo Johnson Named ’15 Winner BATON ROUGE, La. – Ceremonies for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s ninth annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21 at the Manship Theatre at the Shaw Center for the Arts. Doors open at 6 p.m. The ceremony is free and open to the public, although reservations are requested at rsvp@braf.org. T. Geronimo Johnson will read from his winning selection, “Welcome to Braggsville.” The novel is a socially provocative and dark comedy about four University of California, Berkeley students who stage a protest during a Civil War reenactment in rural Georgia. A New Orleans native, Johnson lives in Berkeley, California, and serves as visiting professor at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he earned a master’s degree in fine arts. His first novel, “Hold it ’til it Hurts,” was a finalist for the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. The Gaines Award is a nationally acclaimed $10,000 annual prize created by Baton Rouge Area Foundation donors to recognize outstanding work from rising African-American fiction writers while honoring Ernest Gaines’ extraordinary contribution to the literary world. A native of Louisiana’s Pointe Coupee Parish, Gaines’ critically acclaimed novel “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” was adapted into a made-for-TV movie that won nine Emmy awards. His novel “A Lesson Before Dying” published in 1993, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Gaines is a 2013 recipient of the National Medal of Arts, a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation’s Genius Grant, a recipient of the National Humanities Medal and a member of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. About the Baton Rouge Area Foundation The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is among more than 700 community foundations in the country. The Foundation works in two ways to improve the quality of life in Baton Rouge and across south Louisiana. The Foundation and its fund donors grant about $30 million each year to nonprofits. As well, the Foundation takes on projects to improve the capacity of nonprofits, solve fundamental problems and build gathering places for all people. Our current projects include improving autism services in the Baton Rouge metropolitan region and master planning for the Baton Rouge lakes. With Commercial Properties Realty Trust, the Foundation is building the Water Campus. Rising on 35 acres outside downtown Baton Rouge, the campus will provide labs and space for scientists and engineers working on the double peril of coastal erosion and rising seas across the Gulf Coast and the world. For more information, please visit BRAF.org. ### T. Geronimo Johnson’s latest novel, “Welcome to Braggsville,” is the 2015 winner of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. A native of New Orleans, Johnson lives in Berkley, California, and serves as a writing professor. Now in its ninth year, the Gaines Award honors rising African-American authors while paying tribute to Gaines, a literary legend who grew up in Louisiana’s Pointe Coupee Parish. The award ceremony takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21 at the Manship Theatre at the Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge. Photo credit for T. Geronimo Johnson.jpg: Elizabeth R. Cowan

@Cynique, do you see the option to add images now? Hey @Delano I found an interest website that programmatically does numbers and does a reading for you. I generates a video using your name and everything. I'll start another conversation about it when I get a chance. I actually discovered it as a Google ad on my website. I guess I being discussion numerology too much :-)

Sheila is there a website for the event?

DEADLINES QUICKLY APPROACHING!! 13th NBWC Poetry Cafe Auditions & Call for Papers The 13th National Black Writers Conference: Writing Race, Embracing Difference Produced by the Center for Black Literature Medgar Evers College, CUNY Thursday, March 31, 2016 to Sunday, April 3, 2016 Register NOW! When Thursday March 31, 2016 at 1:00 PM EDT -to- Sunday April 3, 2016 at 1:00 PM EDT Add to Calendar Where Center for Black Literature Center for Black Literature Medgar Evers College, CUNY 1650 Bedford Avenue BROOKLYN, NY 11225 Driving Directions Join Our Mailing List #NBWC2016 #NBWCWritingRace #WritingRace Find this event on FB. The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY Phone: 718-804-8883 E-mail: writers@mec.cuny.edu Like us: Center for Black Literature Follow us: @Center4BlackLit NBWC Poetry Café Auditions Calling all Emerging Poets & Spoken-Word Artists! This is your opportunity to shine! Online submissions will be accepted through January 28, 2016. A live audition will be held for this event: Tuesday, February 9, 2016 (subject to change) 6:30 pm - 9 pm Edison O. Jackson Medgar Evers College, CUNY Brooklyn, NY 11225 This is a New Talent event. No artists with books printed by mainstream publishing houses. Groups and Individuals accepted. RSVP's for the live audition must be made by: FEB. 5, 2016 Out of State? Learn how to submit electronically. Find this event on FB See video from previous years now! Would you like to become a panelist at the 13thNational Black Writers Conference? CALL FOR PAPERS We invite interested faculty, independent researchers, and students to submit proposals for papers focused on the conference theme and panels or in the literature and work of our conference honorees: Rita Dove, Edwidge Danticat, Michael Eric Dyson, Charles Johnson, & Woodie King, Jr. The year 2016 marks the centennial of the birth of author and educator John Oliver Killens, founder of the National Black Writers Conference. As we celebrate his birth in 2016, we welcome proposals on the literature and works of John Oliver Killens. A one- or two-page proposal with references should be submitted by January 15, 2016. Please include name and contact information on the title page. Read full description now. Please submit to: writers@mec.cuny.edu cc: bgreene@mec.cuny.edu with "2016 NBWC Call for Papers" in the subject line. Early rate currently available- Register Now! Have additional questions about the conference? Find the answer on our FAQ's page.

Right now we have 6 Book positions on AALBC.com's Homepage! This is a terrific deal to expose your books to readers. This deal will only be available for a limited time. One these spots are taken. The deal will end. Secure your spot now! If you buy today your add will run until February 25th! online

@Shirley Gale, I notice our people are less likely to buy directly from an author's page than via Amazon or B&N. I have offered signed copies of very popular books, at lower prices than Amazon, and have generated very few sales this way. If given an option people buy from Amazon. On my new site I'm consider selling books directly (drop shipped by Ingram), but I'm not sure it is worth the effort given the purchasing habits of people who visit the site. I have to tell you when I set you book up and noticed the $32 price tag--I know folks will balk at that. Is there a way to offer the book at $15 on B&N and Amazon too? Will you be able to offer that $15 price you offer on your website permanently? If so I can place a buy link to your website. I also noticed a three week delivery time (why so long?), and I could not determine shipping cost in advance (what do you charge for shipping?).

@Shirley Gale, my pleasure. Also how was your experience with Archway in publishing your book?. I see they are owned by Simon and Schuster.

Interesting back story @Shirley Gale Of course I had to add your book to AALBC.com! Thanks for sharing your information here and for participating in our conversations!

Hey Shirley, yeah Home is F*ucking Buring was interesting, but I think Cynique's story would be more interesting to us. I'm sure we could relate to and and enjoy her story more--not that I have loads in common with an 80 year old woman, but our families share the same cultural experiences. I could learn from her story, in many ways her story is mine. Dan's story while interesting too, missed everything that was in Cynique's little story. When Cynique writes, "...gathered around a card table munching on a barbequed hot link," I'm already bringing in a lifetime of related experiences because I been in that setting countless times. I know, and enjoy the experience. Of course I have a cold one in my hand, telling the folks on my left and right to look out for the train! I also know the inquiry from a elder. The worst are the judgemental ones, or the ones who are simply nosey. The ones love the most want to help. You know whose talking to you before they crack their lips. Dan came across as a privileged and spoiled rich kid. To his credit Dan acknowledges this throughout the book, but that did not exactly endear home to me--despite the tragic loss of his father. Shoot, I lost my father at 17. Many kids his age don't even know their fathers. Dan in stark contrast had a father than loved him and provided a splendid life for him and his family. His grandparents were loaded too. I'm all broken up over his "tragic" life. We really need more stories like Cynique's published. But I don't expect those, who are just as privileged as Dan Marshall, who make up New York publishing to do it. Maybe if Cynique, added some lesbian sex scenes, a drug dealer and plenty of foul language, maybe it will get pubbed.

Thanks man. I just posted Reed's reaction on my blog.

I did not know that Natalie passed until I read your message just now, she was only 65.

AALBC.com mourns the passing of Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, author of the the bestselling book The Isis Papers

What's not to like

I was reading an old issue of Black Issues Book Review magazine and came across this quote by Ishmael Reed. Reading it now it seems almost farcical and Ishmael Reed is brilliant. The truth is at the time he wrote this I agreed with him. Today I don't I actually started to post my reaction to his quote here, but as I got going I decided to make a Blog post out of my reaction, which you can read here.

“Outsiders” have often dictated the trends of African American Culture, sometimes doing the job themselves, sometimes using what authors John A. Williams called “surrogates.” Both W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington accused each other of being manipulated by outsiders With the introduction of cyberspace, younger writers have the ability to reach audiences unheard of during the sixties when African American writers produced broadsides and saddle-stitched chapbook. As access to cyberspace becomes less expensive, more voices will be heard and this period, the most prolific in the history of African American Literature, will rise to worldwide prominence, no longer having to obey the tastes of the outsiders in power or the dictates of the establishment-manufactured Talented Tenth. —Ishmael Reed (Black Issues Book Review; November-December 1999)

@Bookscan the video on the page you linked to is listed a private.

OK regarding the video and thanks. When I get some time I'll run a report based upon my websites salese that looks at sales volume, relative to price, over time and compare that to revenue. Of course my data is biased toward books I cover, but it would be a good proxy for the data Amazon has, which they'd never release, and I don't know who else has enough data, or the inclination, to do it.