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Mouths of Rain: Review
Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian ThoughtEdited by Briona Simone JonesReviewed by M Shelly ConnerThe New Press, 2021 Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought, edited by Briona Simone Jones, announces itself as continuing discourse pioneered and advanced in Beverly Guy-Sheftall’s 1995 seminal text Words of Fire. From its opening dedication…
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The Memory Librarian: Review
The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe Reviewed by Alma SterlingHarper Voyager, 2022 Musician, singer-songwriter, rapper, and actor Janelle Monáe adds author to her list of talents with The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer. Along with a group of collaborating writers, including Alaya Dawn Johnson, Eve L.…
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Review: Death, With Occasional Smiling by Dr. Tony Medina
by Alan King Growing up, my mom hammered Jesus into me and my siblings. But she didn’t know about the Jesus whose stomping grounds were “on 110th Street & Lexington Avenue/ In the crusty eyelash of El Barrio.” (from “Dame in Traguito”) This Jesus—without “an accent over the e” because he didn’t need it for…
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Nostrand Avenue: Review
Nostrand Avenue proves its basic point: racism traumatizes and belittles Black men, women and communities. By the end, arsonists have torched many of Bed-Stuy’s historical landmarks, effectively symbolizing gentrification’s insidious function.
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King Comus by William Demby: Review
King Comus by William Demby Ishmael Reed Publishing Review by Steve Kemme
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Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News: Review
Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News By Kevin Young Graywolf Review by Rochelle Spencer When a reality star becomes your president and his advisor describes the exaggerations about the size of his inauguration crowd as “alternative facts,” could there be a better time to discuss bunk?
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The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Review by Leila Green A grief-stricken young woman clings to boys and secrets for far too long.“All good secrets have a taste before you tell them.” Nadia’s mother has committed suicide, but she won’t allow herself to break down. With the hope of feeling whole again, she looks for solace in equally broken people. She…
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Hook: A Memoir by Randall Horton: Review
by Roberto Carlos Garcia In his latest book, Hook: A Memoir, poet Dr. Randall Horton demonstrates how the choices he made throughout his life made him the man he is today. Horton went from a promising college freshman at Howard University to part time drug hustler, to big time drug importer, to struggling and homeless…
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Telepathologies by Cortney Lamar Charleston: Review
Review by Roberto Carlos Garcia In his now infamous speech at the 1958 Radio Television Digital News Association Convention, revered journalist Edward R. Murrow warned his colleagues about the dangers of the television medium: For surely we shall pay for using this most powerful instrument of communication to insulate the citizenry from the hard and…
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The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead: Review
Reviewed by Sidik Fofana The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 is caked in jargon. The gist of it is this: a slave is a slave no matter where she is. South Carolina or Massachusetts. If she has run away and is caught, she is to be returned. She is a carefully labeled piece of luggage.…
