African American Literature Discussion Group

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

In Motion: African American Migration

I hope everyone is enjoying The Warmth of Other Suns as much as I am. Learning so much about the world and experiences of people like my parents has been fascinating.

I've already recommended Isabel Wilkerson's website, with its photos of the Gladneys, Fosters, and Starlings, and video interviews with Wilkerson on her research for the book.. If you'd like to learn even more about the Great Migration, take a look at the Schomburg Library's online exhibit: In Motion: The African American Migration Experience. You'll find newspaper articles, photos, maps, and excerpts from reference books that help put Wilkerson's book in perspective. The site also covers other migratory periods for African Americans, from the slave trade through recent African and Caribbean immigration to the United States.

See you on December 13th!

Monday, November 21, 2011

African American fantasy writers

Lord of the Rings. Game of Thrones. Narnia. All are wildly popular fantasy series set in alternate worlds that re-create ancient or medieval Europe. Yet who says fantasy is the unique domain of Teutonic or Norse inspired myths?

Not N.K. Jemisin or David Anthony Durham. Both are African American authors writing in the high fantasy tradition. Jemisin, creator of the Inheritance Trilogy, creates complex mythologies involving characters living at the margins of their societies. Durham, author of the Acacia Trilogy, takes a similarly inventive look at the brutality and moral ambiguity in great empires. Both authors feature multi-racial casts of characters, and deal with the ethics of slavery and cultural subjugation. For an excellent article on these two writers, and other African Americans in fantasy, see Laura Miller's piece, "If Tolkien Were Black", in the current Salon magazine. And take a look at EPL's list of Africa and African Americans in Science Fiction for more reading ideas!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

New From Lorene Cary

Another great discussion Tuesday night! We were happy to welcome 2 new participants, who brought their own memories and impressions of the young Muhammad Ali to the conversation. Thanks brothers!

Next month, we'll be doing Isabelle Wilkerson's award winning The Warmth of Other Sons, so start registering to get your copy! We'll meet on December 13th at 7:00.

I've been digging around for new African American authors, and rediscovered an old favorite, Lorene Cary. Her 1992 memoir Black Ice brought home the painful challenges of her experience as a black teen integrating a white, primarily male eastern prep school. She followed it up with Pride a novel expolring the friendships between four high achieving African American women.

Her latest, If Sons, Then Heirs , tells "a complex story of family, race, and the challenges of reconciling the present with a persistent past". Issues of property, attachment to land, and racist inheritance laws all play a role in this gripping family drama. Cary give us plenty to think about!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Updates: King of the World, Silver Sparrow, The Warmth of Other Suns

Greetings, AAL fans! I look forward to seeing all of you next Tuesday night, November 8th for our discussion of King of the World. As usual we will be meeting in the Small Meeting room on the 1^st floor, near the east door.

If you’re not very familiar with boxing (I sure wasn’t!) you might want to watch some of the videos of the Ali/Liston fight, available for free on YouTube. Here’s a good one, which also has interviews with Jimmy Cannon, Angelo Dundee, and others who appear in the book:

Last weekend I had the enormous pleasure of discussing our April book, Silver Sparrow, with the author, Tayari Jones on Blacklit chat. The discussion has been archived and is well worth reading. Lots of great insights into the motivations of Jones’ well-drawn, complicated characters. Ms Jones has a discussion guide on her website as well.

Up next in December: Isabelle Wilkerson's award winning account of the Great Migration north, The Warmth of Other Suns. There's an online discussion guide , and Ms Wilkerson has a wonderful web site with reviews, more discussion questions, video clips, and historical details.

Happy reading!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Sunday Night Chat with Tayari Jones!

I blogged recently about the talented Tayari Jones, author of The Untelling, Leaving Atlanta, and the recently released Silver Sparrow, (which we'll be discussing in April 2012). Ms Jones will be featured on a live chat TONIGHT, Sunday October 30th at 8 pm Central Time. It's free and readers can even submit questions either though the event web page, Twitter, or Facebook.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

November discussion: King of the World, Muhammad Ali and the Rise of An American Hero

What a great conversation we had about Who Does She Think She Is? last week! It was great to welcome our new members, as well as several "veterans".

Next month's book, King of the World, is the powerful story of Muhammad Ali and his game-changing role in the civil rights movement, and the evolving imagery of black men in America. Author David Remnick contrasts the three major heavyweight champions of the 1960s (Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, and Ali) as competing models of black identity: the "Bad Negro", (Liston) the "Good Negro", (Patterson) and Ali, who refused to follow either prescribed role.Plenty to discuss in this well-written book! As usual, call the Reader's Services desk at 847-448-8620 to register and reserve your copy.

Tuesday November 8th, 7:00 pm, Small Meeting Room of the Evanston Public Library

Thursday, October 13, 2011

African American Halloween

As the nights get longer and the air chillier, our thoughts turn to ghostly spectres and brooding creatures of the night. If you've had your fill of Twilight, Anne Rice, and Freddie Kruger, maybe it's time to try some culturally diverse Halloween horror. I can't think of a better place to start than with Tananarive Due 's "African Immortals" series. Imagine a powerful tribe of, well...not vampires but superhuman beings who have experienced all of African American history firsthand. Dawit has survived as a black man for over 450 years, but he has one fatal flaw; he keeps falling in love. Will he be able to protect his mortal wife and child once they learn his secret? This atmospheric, romantic, and beautifully written thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Welcome to the African American Literature Discussion Group blog!

Whether you are new to our group or a long-standing participant, feel free to check here for dates and locations of our book discussions, book reviews, commentary on African American literature, library issues, author events, or merely to share a post about an issue of interest. The AAL book group meets the third Tuesday of each month in the Evanston Public Library first floor Small Meeting Room and is open to the public. A list of upcoming titles is available on the Evanston Public Library website and you may register and pick up copies of each month’s titles at the library’s second floor Reader’s Services desk.

Here's a complete list of books we've discussed!

Check us out on GoodReads too!

Till our next post, happy reading!

Sincerely,

Lesley Williams
Book Discussion Facilitator

Evanston Public Library
1703 Orrington Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 448-8620

What to Read Next...The Hanging Bridge

From guest reviewer Vaughan Jones: We all have had lessons in history in college, but being young, and never being in the Jim Crow environment, there was no real connection to the level of hate and white supremacy in the community. The book connected how the lynching and violence was used as a continuing campaign of subjugation to have a cheap and spiritually defeated labor force be brutalized for the slightest of infractions. It was like reading Theodore White's " Making of a President". It put the reader right there n Shubuta, Clark County MS. You felt like you were witnessing the barbarism and hate, at the scene. I can understand how the African Americans in Clarke County endured the environment and like the Jews of Europe, not all of them felt they had alternatives. They just had to endure. Just unbelievable. The book is completely readable for all levels and not making it as A. Bartlett Giamatti once called academic writing, "High Institutional". The focus was on the 2 separate lynchings of 6 young black residents (4 in 1918 and 2 in 1942), and how Clark County's continued to resist to any form of change. But your highlighting the work of Walter White and the early NAACP took so much courage, very few people understand the risks those people took in getting the story on the lynchings across the South. You also highlighted the real genocidal acts taking place outside of Mississippi in other areas, an example was the outright murder of the Black farmers in Arkansas. In a lot of ways, the US is not unlike other countries like Germany who want only to either brush over the barbarism and crimes. In the writing of "The Hanging Bridge, Prof. Ward transitioned and highlighted the work of the African Americans, who were able to get Early Childhood Care, through Head Start and the efforts of the county political leadership to manipulate and hinder any efforts to have any political or economic independence. This book would be a great addition to the curriculum of Evanston Township High School and surrounding high schools for the students to have the insight on why the language of demagogues is so dangerous. It is not unlike a virus that infects a population with the results being mob actions and murders.