Issue 25

Interviews
Thomas Glave by Vincent F.A. Golphin
Lawrence Hill by Maranda Moses

Excerpt
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

Mosaic Lesson Plans
New lesson plans for secondary-school educators (click here to download)
Designed by Eisa Nefertari Ulen

Reviews
City Kid by Nelson George
Gods and Soldiers: The Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing Edited by Rob Spillman
Gospel by Samiya Bashir
Home: Social Essays by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka)
Midnight, A Gangster Love Story by Sister Souljah
More Than Just Race: Being Black And Poor In The Inner City by William Julius Wilson
The Other Side of Paradise by Staceyann Chin
The Torturer’s Wife by Thomas Glave
The World in Half by Cristina Henríquez

Issue 24

The New Black Memoir
An Interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates by Abdul Ali
When Ta-Nehisi Coates sat down to write The Beautiful Struggle, he broke new ground for young memoirists whose work challenge what a black story can be in this contemporary moment where a black male can conceivably top the New York Times bestselling list and be President of the United States at the same time.

Excerpt
The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coayes

A New ‘Toon
Robert Truillo on graphic artist Dawud Anyabwile
I discovered Dawud Anyabwile’s work about two years ago while researching illustrations that were representative of African Americans and Latinos in contemporary comics and graphic novels.

Every Woman
An Interview with Goretti Kyomuhendo by Beatrice Lamwaka
Ugandan writer Goretti Kyomuhendo is one of the founding members of FEMRITE, the Ugandan Women Writers’ Association and Publishing House where she worked as the programme coordinator for ten years (1997-2007). FEMRITE was created out of a belief that gender-defined support is essential to developing new voices.

Excerpt
Waiting: A Novel of Uganda at War by Goretti Kyomuhendo

Junot’s Oscar
An Interview with Junot Diaz by Alison Isaac
When Junot Díaz published his first book, Drown, it was met with critical acclaim from countless media sources. Described as “mesmerizingly honest,” “powerful” and “convincing,” Díaz’s work has been published in The New Yorker, GQ, The Paris Review and African Voices (among others).

Conduit: Poems
by Khadijah Queen

Gentleman Jigger, A Novel of the Harlem Renaissance
By Richard Bruce Nugent

Gomer’s Song
By Kwame Dawes

Kinky Gazpacho
By Lori L. Tharps

Say You’re One Of Them
By Uwem Akpan

Slumberland
By Paul Beatty

Somebody Scream!: Rap Music’s Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power
By Marcus Reeves

When the Black Girl Sings
By Bil Wright

Embracing Traditions:
An interview with Tayari Jones
Deemed one of the best writers of our generation, Tayari Jones discusses writing, the South, and her novels The Untelling and Leaving Atlanta.
by Nicole Sealey

Excerpt
The Untelling by Tayari Jones

Bits of Wisdom:
A Conversation with J. California Cooper
Beloved by readers throughout the world, J. California Cooper tells us how she feels about creativity, accolades, and the acceptance of her work
by Kimberly Collins

A Writer’s Life: William Demby
At the tender age of 84, William Demby is finally receiving praise as an important voice in African-American writing.
by Steve Kemme


Poems
Frisson: Remembering Jamaica
by Kamilah Aisha Moon

Last Words
Ruby Carter Winfrey Hamer 1917-2002
by Jarvis DeBerry


Reviews
Earth's Water by Nicole Blades
Reviewed by Regina Zamor

Erzulie’s Skirt by Ana-Maurine Lara
Reviewed by Tara Betts

The Girl with the Golden Shoes by Colin Channer
Reviewed by Maranda Moses

She’s Gone by Kwame Dawes
Reviewed by Mireille A. L. Djenno

The Story of the Cannibal Woman by Maryse Conde
Reviewed by Mireille A. L. Djenno

The Sweet Scent of Death by Guillermo Arriaga
Reviewed by Ozioma Egwuonwu

That Mean Old Yesterday by Stacey Patton
Reviewed by Dr. Tameka Bradley Hobbs

ISSUE NINETEEN 7.07

TRIBUTE ISSUE TO GWENDOLYN BROOKS
As we celebrate the 90th anniversary of the birth of Gwendolyn Brooks the nineteenth issue of Mosaic pays tribute through poetry, essays, and recollections on the first African American to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

ESSAYS
The Way of All Bridges, In Memory of Gwendolyn Brooks
by Afaa Michael Weaver

How I Fell So Deeply In Love With Us
by Kalamu ya Salaam

Parents: From Report From Part One
by Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn’s Gatekeeper: An Interview with Nichole Shields
by Tara Betts

The Poet in the House on Evans Ave.
by S. Brandi Barnes

Indispensable Maud Martha
by Asali Solomon

Giant Steps: First-person Observation of Ms. Brooks’ Guiding Hand by Quraysh Ali Lansana

POEMS
when you have forgotten Sunday: the love story
by Gwendolyn Brooks

Jane Addams
by Gwendolyn Brooks

No Ordinary Waterfall (for Gwen Brooks)
by Kalamu ya Salaam

Eighty-three is a Wise Number by Haki R. Madhubuti

The Other by Gwendolyn A. Mitchell

20/20 For Ms. Gwendolyn Brooks, 1917-2000 by Joy Gonsalves

Three Kinds of Edges for P.S. by Christian Campbell

She Real Cool: Woman With the Golden Pen
by Nagueyalti Warren

We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
Click here to listen to Gwendolyn Brooks reading "We Real Cool"

A Life in Art and Service An Interview with Danny Simmons
by DuEwa M. Frazier

Reviews
The New Moon’s Arm by Nalo Hopkinson
Reviewed by Stacia L. Brown

To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic
by William Jelani Cobb
Reviewed by Danielle A. Jackson

African Psycho: Killer in Training by Alain Mabanckou
Reviewed by Ozioma Egwuonwu

Ace of Spades by David Matthew
Reviewed by Kim Rose

ISSUE #17 1.07

The Healing World of Lucille Clifton
With Hurricane Katrina still heavy on her heart, poet Lucille Clifton sat down with Jacqueline Jones LaMon to discuss life, death, and poetry.

Marlon James
First-time novelist Marlon James chats with Felicia Pride about his novel, John Crow’s Devil, and the influence Jamaica has had on his work.

Let There Be Peace, Let There Be Life
Nigerian-writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reflects on her award-winning novel Purple Hibiscus and discusses future literary work with A. Naomi Jackson.

A Diva Supreme
Poet and activist Suheir Hammad met with poet (and former student) John Rodriguez to talk about politics, and her new book of poetry Zaatar Diva.

Reviews
Bearing Witness: Not So Crazy in Alabama by Carla Thompson
Becoming Abigail by Chris Abani, The Last Friend by Tahar Ben Jelloun, Paradise Travel by Jorge Franco

Excerpt
John Crow’s Devil by Marlon James

Poetry
"Watching Mary Walk Through The Front Door" by Toni Asante Lightfoot
"laveau’s sojourn" by LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs

Winter 2006 #16

Thomas Sayers Ellis
A poet, educator, and self-proclaimed "genuine negro hero" to the heart, Thomas Sayers Ellis did the QandA thing with Penny Dickerson.

Total Life Is What We Want
Poet Sharan Strange reflects on the history and lasting influence of the Dark Room Collective.

Linton Kwesi Johnson
Nancy Rawlinson finds the legendary Jamaican dub poet has no interest in mellowing with age.

Reviews
After Mecca: Women Poets and the Black Arts Movement by Cheryl Clarke
Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? by Michael Eric Dyson
The Language of Saxophones: Selected Poems of Kamau Daáood
Let the Lion East Straw by Ellease Southerland
Limbo by Sean Keith Henry
Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America by Bakari Kitwana
Zorro by Isabel Allende

Summer 2005 #15
Issue fifteen brings it to the roots. For all of its seven years Mosaic has called the Bronx home. In this issue we focus on poets who were born here or, as in the case of James Baldwin, spent formative years in the borough of hills.

Poet and educator Dr. Tony Medina talks with Cave Canem fellow Jacqueline Johnson about the current state of poetry.  +  James Baldwin’s friend and editor Sol Stein talks of their early days at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, NY. +  E. Ethelbert Miller slowed down just long enough to discuss poetry, scholarship, and Howard University. + Boogie Down Productions > Five Bronx poets featured in the book, Shout Out + more.

Winter 2004 #14
Interviews: Bakari Kitwana "The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture; Raquel Rivera, "New York Ricans From the Hip Hop Zone", breaks down the culture in Black and Brown; Dr. Todd Boyd, The New H.N.I.C: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop; and actress Camille Yarbrough talks about her life and prolific career.

Love and War Three literary stallwarts revisit America’s battle-fatiqued history. Essays by Haki Madhubuti and Yusef Komunyakaa. Dialogue between Amiri Baraka and Bill O’Reilly.

Spring 2002 #13
Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, Nelly Rosario, the Black Arts Movement, Break Any Woman Down by Dana Bryant, Envy of the World: On Being a Black Man in America by Ellis Cose, Ghost of a Flea by James Sallis, Glow in the Dark by Lisa Teasley, Harlemworld: Doing Race and Class in Contemporary Black America by John Johnson, The Red Moon by Kuwana Haulsey, This Bitter Earth by Bernice Mcfadden, Song of the Water Saints by Nelly Rosario

Winter 2002 #12
Interview: James Earl Hardy
Article: Gwendolyn Brooks Writers' Conference
Article: Anthologies
Interview: Joyce Palmer Greenwichtown
Excerpt: Greenwichtown

Reviews Approaching the Center by Myronn Hardy; Bird At My Window by Rosa Guy; Chester Himes: A Life by James Sallis; Erasure by Percival Everett, The Fire of the Origins by Emmanuel Dongala; Here’s To You, Jesusa by Elena Poniatowska; Juice by Renee Gladman; Living with Music: Ralph Ellison’s Jazz Writings by Ralph Ellison; My Grandmother's Erotic Folktales by Robert Antoni; A Negro Explorer At the North Pole by Matthew Henson Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word by Randall Kennedy; Not Guilty: Twelve Black Men Speak Out on Law, Justice, and Life by Jabari Asim; Soledad by Angie Cruz; Turning South Again: Re-Thinking Modernism/Re-Thinking Booker T. by Houston Baker

Fall 2001 #11
Poet Nikky Finney
Chester Himes
Profile: The Autobiography of Assata Shakur
Reviews: A Fool ’s Paradise by Nancy Flowers Wilson, Bloodroot by Aaron Roy Even, The Day Eazy-E Died by James Earl Hardy, Desirada by Maryse Conde, Further to Fly: Black Women and the Politics of Empowerment by Shelia Radford-Hill, Honky by Dalton Conley

Summer 2001 #10
Interviews: Mat Johnson, Major Jackson, Sharrif Simmons
Features: New Bookstores, Independent publishing
Profile: Robert Fleming
Reviews: The Big Mango by Norman Kelley, Slapboxing with Jesus by Victor LaVelle, Kin by Crystal Williams, Popular by Thierry LeGoues

WINTER 1998 #4
Sonya Sanchez
Kimberla Lawson Roby
Camika Spenser
Mars Hill

Profiles of Ann Petry and Nkiru Books, The Writing Business by Pat Houser, Speak Dis! by Tony Medina, The Struggle for Visibility of African American Women's Literature by Dorothy Harris. Excerpt of The Moaners' Bench by Mars Hill. reviews of
Assault on Paradise by Latiana Lobo,
Blue As the Lake by Robert Stepto,
Blue Light by Walter Mosley,
Don't Explain by Jewell Gomez,
The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Dandicat, and more

SUMMER 1998 #2
Content
Sheneska Jackson by Pat Houser
Jessica Care Moore by Lynne d. Johnson
Telling Our Stories Ourselves by Dorothy Harris
Why I Write by Kathleen Morris
The Literary Life: Write On by Mo Fleming
Lorraine Hansberry by Lynne d. Johnson

Reviews
Pride by Lorene Cary
In Another Place, Not Here by Dionne Brand
Ella Baker by Joanne Grant
If God Can Cook You Know I Can by Ntozake Shange
Nothing But the Rent by Sharon Mitchell
The Healing by Gayl Jones
Roberts vs. Texaco by Bari-Ellen Roberts
The Men of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
Blanche Cleans Up by Barbara Neely
The Itch by Benilde Little