Troy

Well, Cynique, those are the conclusions I'm questioning. I'm not convinced (yet), that bookstores, book fairs are things whose time has come and gone. Too many of the fairs and stores I'm aware of are plagued by issues that have nothing to do with demand. I don't think the internet is the culprit, and for a very simple reason; the internet can not replace the experience that a well run book fair or book store can provide. Next month the Brooklyn Book Festival will take place; Edwidge Danticat, Terry McMillian, Sapphire, Colson Whitehead, and others will be on hand for what I can guarantee will be a great event. The internet will support through pre-event promotion, archiving video, photos and more after the event, as well as supporting it with social media during the event. AT&T even has an app for the event. The internet is a tool to support the book fair not something that can replace it. If we compared the support and sponsorship secured by the Harlem Book Fair and the Brooklyn Book Festival, you'd see that the differences are amazingly stark. The clearly the difference in the level of support helps explain the relative success of each event. The question becomes why is the difference in the level of support obtained by each event so different?

This is a really interesting read http://aalbc.it/hue-man I talks about the Hue-man Experience Bookstore, perhaps, at the time, the nation's largest Black owned independent Bookstore. The case study address the specifics of the Hue-man bookstore, including financials as well as a snap shot of the publishing industry in the early 1990's. "I started out with a marketing plan but there were many flaws because it was based on Anglo book purchasing behavior. We were unable to anticipate the difficulty in getting African American people to buy books. I had to go back and reevaluate my marketing strategies. We thought people would come because the idea was unique. It was an upscale store with ambiance, patterned similar to Tattered Cover, which really has a national presence. And we thought that people would come--particularly middle class people with disposable incomes and a higher education level, because that was the popula­tion that I was close to. But it took a lot more marketing to get people in. The variable we didn't count on is that the store sold not just books, but culture. The customers we attracted have to be cultur­ally connected."

I post this here not to bash the Harlem Book Fair, but to use the Book Fair as a case study of sorts, for the issues that hurts the Harlem Book Fair hurts similar events across the country. Perhaps some of the comments made here will help not only the Harlem Book Fair but other events as well. Nellicito wrote a lot. I wish I had time to address her points right now. As someone who has witnessed the fair from the beginning and actively participated in all aspects of it, for more than a decade my perspective is quite different. In fact, I suspect if Nellicito been at the1st few book fairs her reaction would be much more critical. I'll be back later with my comments. I hope others will chime in sooner.

This conversation was started to continue on initiated on Facebook. I'm not keen on giving Facebook all my ideas so I decided to continue the conversation here: Nellicito Writes: My Reaction: Rahiem reacts: I Reply: Nellicito Unleashes:

I pushed this one up to the top of my queue! I used to live near Levittown. When I worked for Grumman. It will be interesting to see how the topic is approached.

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Anthony Browder USA Cell # 240-271-5634 Egypt Cell # 01120585933 Directors of U.S. Excavation Mission to Meet Egyptian President Morsi July 31, 2012 Luxor, Egypt Dr. Elena Pischikova and Anthony Browder have been selected, from a field of foreign missions excavating in Egypt, to meet President Mohamed Morsi Friday August 3, 2012 at Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt. Dr. Pischikova, Director of the South Asasif Conservation Project and Mr. Browder, Director of the ASA Restoration Project, have collaborated on the excavation and restoration of the 25th dynasty tomb of Karakhamun since 2008. They were the first foreign team to return to Egypt following the 2011 revolution, and are to be acknowledged for their dedication to their work and their desire to maintain close relations with the people of Egypt. The discoveries made during the excavations by Browder and Pischikova will greatly expand the knowledge of the 25th dynasty – an often ignored period of ancient Egyptian history. Karakhamun was buried in an elaborate tomb on the west bank of Luxor over 2700 years ago. He was a priest of Amun and is believed to be a member of the royal family of Shabaka, the 2nd king of the 25thdynasty. Dr. Pischikova and Mr. Browder will present their findings at an international gathering of Egyptologists at a conference to be held in the Mummification Museum in Luxor, Egypt on October 1 thru 4, 2012. For more details on Karakhamun and the October conference visit www.southasasif.com or www.asarestorationproject.com

I have to admit Cynique the White folks leading Blacks did cross my mind -- but hey it was "Monday Fun Day" This video just helps to reinforce the argument that it does not always take loads of money to save such programs. Waterstar, that is so very true.

Why? I have know idea either Cynique. That you could find unbounded pleasure from this requires no explanation. I was only interested 'cause The Roots provided the music. "Music Room": Backstage before the show, Jimmy, Carly Rae Jepsen, and The Roots grabbed some instruments you'd find in an elementary school classroom and performed "Call Me Maybe." Carly Rae Jepsen - vocals, triangle Jimmy Fallon - wood block, tambourine, bass drum Questlove - washboard stick, kazoo, recorder Tuba Gooding Jr. - kazoo, recorder Frank Knuckles - bongos Captain Kirk - ukulele James Poyser - melodica Mark Kelley - toy xylophone Black Thought - tambourine

I hear the Nation of Islam has taken to the street in response to all the gun violence in Chi-town. I hope it help. Gun violence would probably increase the underground trafficking of guns, but if guns were banned you could at least start locking up those possessing them. And since the guys who possess the guns are the ones actually using them, I suspect the murders would decrease -- especially between knucklehead settling some personal dispute. It is obvious by now that Obama's reelection and overall strategy is not to show any overt support of the Black community. So I doubt he'll be speaking out or doing anything of consequence in Chicago, Newark, Philadelphia or even his own backyard of SE Washington DC. Batman?! I don't remember seeing the caper crusader helping anyone in the Black community either

I was just asked "What's the Buzz on Sapphire's latest novel The Kid" I just seem to remember it falling flat. I read through the reviews on Amazon - something I never do as I don't know the reviewers and I know many are written to artificially slam (haters) or praise a book (author writing their own reviews). True to form the most of the reviews were 1 star or 5 star. Did anyone here read the book? What did you think? The Kid [Penguin July, 2011] Fifteen years after the publication of Push, one year after the Academy Award-winning film adaptation, Sapphire gives voice to Precious's son, Abdul.

"IF THEY COME FROM GREAT LENGTHS ON BUS TOURS JUST TO EAT SOUL FOOD AT SYLVIA'S RESTAURANT (GOD REST HER SOUL), WHY WOULDN'T THEY READ BOOKS BY BLACK AUTHORS, ALSO?" Hickson, while fatty foods and literature are two different things, I believe the analogy is sound. I came across an African American book club whose members are all white. They even had a video explaining how to appreciate the African American literature. White owned publishers like Kensington Books, Akashic Press and others publish a ton of book written by Black (non-celebrity) authors and they are not just targeting Black readers -- why should they -- and why should the bookstores? In fact, one would think a Black publisher like Ghettoheat or a bookstore like Hue-man would find it easier to purvey Black authors and books to a white audience in much that way Sylvia Woods (R.I.P.) had an advantage over white soul food restaurants.

Hickson I believe most of the changes technology enhancements have all been positive -- it is how the technology has been used, lately, where my problems come in. People used to talk about a "digital divide" however the chasm is even wider today but there is less conversation about the discrepancy. Having a cell phone and a twitter account or being on facebook does nothing to narrow the gap -- in fact it creates the illusion that is isn't one. I'm not nearly as optimistic as I was 10 years ago when AALBC.com was a mere shell of what it is today. HIckson, would you post a direct link to the magazine? Better yet start a new conversation with the magazine cover and a link to where it can be obtained.

"I think it's time for some meaningful discussion between entities that would support such efforts". Absolutely, I think these entities need to feel/understand why it is necessary. See in the pure capitalist model, for example, I would find fewer book websites and physical stores and more authors who find it difficult to get coverage advantageous. But when you look further down the road and see how grim everyone's (book sellers, authors, readers) prospects a competitive advantage does not look so good. The real challenge is convincing people, especially those with a short term advantage, that there is even a problem and helping them to understand why it is in their interest to do something about it.

Cynique over the centuries is a long time. But in recent memory, at least over the last few decades, I'd be willing to bet that gun violence would rank at the top of preventable causes of death -- certainly for Black men under 40. . Here in NY City a 4 year old child was shot and killed at an event to commemorate someone else who was killed through gun violence. This got a lot of media attention because of the ironic nature of the circumstances of the murder and the age of the victim. Of course the outcry from the community is relatively mute. Outrage is only expressed on a large scale if the murderer is suspected to be non-Black. We get riled up over bad mouthing the president, the Housewives of Atlanta, LeBron willing a ring... I know people personally who have been shot and killed through gun violence. I have had a gun pulled on me during a robbery. I am not unique in these experiences. Indeed my experience my be rather mild in comparison with many others -- and that is the sick part. So while a gun in the hands of most people is fairly innocuous, there are too many people where the opposite is true. Until that changes I'd be willing to ban guns -- or at least putting so many restrictions on their use and one's ability to acquire one and many violations a serious felony. This would likely bring down murders and people would be happy until we discover that, in practice, the law would only be enforced against Black folks -- landing even more of us in jail. We have to figure out a way to stop black folks from killing Black folks. Since taking guns away is not likely in the near future we need to get down to the root cause of the problem -- a better solution anyway.

Waterstar, thanks for taking the time to read and comment. The problem with Huria is that the underlying technology is Google's. I'm hoping someone will come along and improve on it -- making it truly self-sufficient. The problem with coalition building is that the handful of remaining large Black sites have no interest in the effort and are largely indistinguishable from the large white owned Black sites. The other sites, representing the vast majority, wield too little influence to matter. I think however if all these tiny, conscious sites, were unified we could indeed have an impact. Again that is hard to accomplish, but I see no other way to ensure we have a voice, and remain become relevant. The problems are indeed reflective of a people.

Read the entire article and learn about new AALBC.com services

I hope not. I just stuck it in my watch later on TV queue

Hey Milton, it was mentioned in a related in the Times article that Jimmy Baldwin, for example, never received any of these awards and today he is recognized as one of America's most important writers. Obviously his importance to the Black community is even more significant. Do you think Baldwin's prose would have been more on target if he'd won a Pulitzer? Do you think winning a National Book Award would have validated his work or given it more credibility? Given Baldwin's life long commitment and output we can assume with a great deal of certainty that he did not write for the purpose of being given a trophy or a medal. I doubt most serious writers write for this reason. You raise a great point: "Awards have a commercial benefit". The financial benefit accrues not just to the recipient. Jesmyn Ward's National Book Award for Salvage the Bones, for example, even benefited AALBC.com -- advertising from the publisher, commissions on increased book sales, traffic, conversation, etc. This is all great. Awards with financial prizes also help writers continue to write. The only problem I have is our reliance on these awards for validation -- further our inability to bestow an award of equal prestige. The NAACP, for example, bestows Image Awards for literature every year The ALA Give out the Coretta Scott King Award for children's books Essence used to give out Literary Awards: The African American Literary Awards Show has been doing it for years -- but had to cancel their ceremony last year: I could go on and on pointing out awards that have relatively little consequence within our community. ReShonda Tate Billingsley winning an NAACP image award had zero impact here. Kadir Nelson winning a boat load of Correct Scott King Award means nothing as far as I can tell. No advertising from the publisher, not increased traffic, sales, nothing... What this means however is that I have all the incentive in the world to cover Black National Book Award Winners than I do to cover Hurston/Wright winners. It is a good thing I'm not just here for the money... and certainly not for awards

Are these award important? Can you imagine 48 prominent authors today getting behind an author today? Is it that all of our important authors are getting the recognition they deserve?

Well Morrison my never have won a National Book Award but she did win a Presidential Medal of Freedom

[beloved's] failure to win the National Book Award sparked a protest by 48 black writers and critics, who signed a statement published in The New York Times Book Review lamenting the fact that Ms. Morrison had been overlooked for the award and had not yet received a Pulitzer Prize. Shortly afterward, Ms. Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for "Beloved." In a 2006 New York Times survey of prominent writers, "Beloved" was chosen the best work of American fiction of the previous 25 years. Read full article from the NY Times June Jordan Houston A. Baker Jr. STATEMENT Despite the international stature of Toni Morrison, she has yet to receive the national recognition that her five major works of fiction entirely deserve: she has yet to receive the keystone honors of the National Book Award or the Pulitzer Prize. We, the undersigned black critics and black writers, here assert ourselves against such oversight and harmful whimsy. The legitimate need for our own critical voice in relation to our own literature can no longer be denied. We, therefore, urgently affirm our rightful and positive authority in the realm of American letters and, in this prideful context, we do raise this tribute to the author of ''The Bluest Eye,'' ''Sula,'' ''Song of Solomon,'' ''Tar Baby'' and ''Beloved'': Alive, we write this testament of thanks to you, dear Toni: alive, beloved and persevering, magical. Among the fecund intimacies of our hidden past, and among the coming days of dream or nightmares that will follow from the bidden knowledge of our conscious heart, we find your life work ever building to a monument of vision and discovery and trust. You have never turned away the searching eye, the listening ear attuned to horror or to histories providing for our faith. And freely you have given to us every word that you have found important to the forward movement of our literature, our life. For all of America, for all of American letters, you have advanced the moral and artistic standards by which we must measure the daring and the love of our national imagination and our collective intelligence as a people. Your gifts to us have changed and made more gentle our real time together. And so we write, here, hoping not to delay, not to arrive, in any way, late with this, our simple tribute to the seismic character and beauty of your writing. And, furthermore, in grateful wonder at the advent of ''Beloved,'' your most recent gift to our community, our country, our conscience, our courage flourishing as it grows, we here record our pride, our respect and our appreciation for the treasury of your findings and invention. Robert Allen, Maya Angelou, Houston A. Baker Jr., Toni Cade Bambara, Amina Baraka, Amiri Baraka, Jerome Brooks, Wesley Brown, Robert Chrisman, Barbara Christian, Lucille Clifton, J. California Cooper, Jayne Cortez, Angela Davis, Thulani Davis, Alexis De Veaux. Mari Evans, Nikky Finney, Ernest J. Gaines, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Paula Giddings, Vertamae Grosvenor, Cheryll Y. Greene, Rosa Guy, Calvin Hernton, Nathan Irvin Huggins, Gloria T. Hull, Gale Jackson, June Jordan, Paule Marshall, Nellie McKay, Louise Meriwether. Louise Patterson, Richard Perry, Arnold Rampersad, Eugene Redmond, Sonia Sanchez, Hortense Spillers, Luisah Teish, Joyce Carol Thomas, Eleanor Traylor, Quincy Troupe, Alice Walker, Mary Helen Washington, John Wideman, Margaret Wilkerson, John A. Williams, Sherley Anne Williams.-

Despite my critic's 3 star rating, I found The Dark Knight to be only mildly interesting -- a disappointment. It really paled in comparison to The Dark Knight.

No waterstar the gun did not walk in there by itself, a psychopath walked in there with it. All I'm saying is that without all those guns the crowd could have easily subdued that nut before he killed and maimed so many others. Sure he could have gone in there with a slingshot, knife or baseball bat -- all of which can be deadly, in the hands of a mad-man. My argument is that if guns were taken out the hands of the general public -- these tragedies would be much less likely to occur. We are too primitive to handle such dangerous weapons and too dumb to recognize it.

Waterstar sure many people who believe Yacub created the white race will also quote Malcolm on other issues. People pick and chose what supports their world view. In much the same way people abuse Christianity - using it to justify slavery and all manner of evil. We can learn from Malcolm's growth and exceed it, but that has not happened. We have regressed. A leader like a Malcolm or a King would be impossible to emerge now. Those with the potential seem far too interested in accumulating wealth.

"I want to be a solder" looks interesting. That 144,000 number always concerned me when I first heard the Jehovah Witnesses talk about it. Given the number of people that ever lived, the 144K figure is so small you may as well say that no one will be saved. Then again, considering humanity's behavior this number may be about right