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Tee C. Royal
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 22, 2003 - 11:16 pm: | 
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I'm not sure how old this article is but found it interesting. Please share your thoughts!
-Tee
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Source: The Black Book Network
http://www.blackbooknetwork.com/special_feature.htm
Man Talk -- Have Black Men Taken Over the Relationship Dialogue?
A New Generation of Black Male Writers say, "Sisters aren't the only ones Waiting to Exhale"
by Betty Davis, Editor-in-Chief
Did Black men come to the forefront out of necessity to explain themselves after Waiting to Exhale? Was this phenomenon exemplified in our literature and non-fiction books? Recently, we have witnessed an unprecedented number of both Black male and female writers who have shared their experiences with the male/female relationship conflict through the written word. Whether in the form of mainstream fiction, romance, or motivational non-fiction, Black male writers are enjoying the type of commercial success which has eluded them, in large numbers, since the 1960's.
For the first time in years, Black male writers are attracting attention from major publishing houses and are able to find an audience in the legions of Black female book buyers around the country. Rather than being able to simply write about the intricacies of the male experience, Black writers find themselves up against a barrage of negative press permeating around Black men in the post Exhale era.
Recently, the Black Book Network interviewed several prominent Black male writers about their experiences in the publishing industry, overcoming the stereotypes about Black men, and how their careers were affected by the commercial success of Waiting to Exhale.
Former journalist and Essence writer, Colin Channer's debut novel, Waiting in Vain, was exalted by critics as not only an exceptional piece of fiction, but a refreshing take on the soul and depth of the Black male and his treatment of Black women. "There's a perception in this culture that Black men are letting down society -- that we're not being the husbands, fathers, and community leaders that we need to be," Channer says. "One of the things that came out as I was working on the novel was the realization that Fire (the lead male character) was what I believe to be the visions, patterns, and behaviors that will sustain Black men into the next millenium. Fire then is in many ways the prototype of a new kind of man -- one who has what many consider to be 'feminine' attributes, largely the capacity to nurture."
The perception that Black men do not nurture their women and children, and generally, do not have their lives together is a central theme in many popular books by African American women. Showing a balance between the "trifling brother" and real men with real issues has been a delicate balancing act for the Black male writer primarily because the accusations cannot readily be dismissed. Bestselling author, William July, who also enjoys a successful career on the lecture circuit, wrote Brothers, Lust & Love for Black women to provide them with insight on Black men that came straight from the source -- not watered down by therapists, psychoanalysts or celebrities. He says, " There are a lot of stereotypes that Black women have about Black men -- the idea that Black men don't want to work, won't commit, want to live off of women. These are not necessarily true, and to the extent that they are true, my book questions, 'Is the fact that a man has a certain degree, and makes a certain amount of money the basis of a decision regarding a potential mate?' When asked whether he felt that McMillan's novel had any particular impact on Black male writers, he notes, "In the short term, Terry McMillan's work increased opportunities for Black female writers. In the long term, however, it called for Black male writers. In the immediate sense, publishers started looking for their own Terry McMillan. It did though, have a ripple effect, and eventually men responded and came forward. Was the treatment of Black men in her books fair? I think that it was Terry McMillan telling her story as she saw it. It was not representative of all Black women or Black men, because it made women seem so desperate, which is not the case. The men in her books didn't do much to enhance the image of the Black male. She has a right to tell her story; but there also needs to be other voices that are diverse representations of Black men."
According to some interpretations of the state of Black male/female relationships, Black women are the "college degreed, white collar, Essence reading, totally together sisters, who are constantly being let down by trifling, good-for-nothing brothers." Not so, says Van Whitfield, whose own writing career started as a result of encountering a "not so perfect" sister on his search for Miss Right. "One day, I went out on a bad blind date. The date was so horrific that I was, in every sense of the word, traumatized. So, I went home and wrote about it," he says. "There was no notion whatsoever that it would turn into a book. It was really a reaction to how bad the date was. Juxtapose that against the fact that I'm a guy, and we do not readily go home and talk about our bad date experiences. Even on the rare occasion that we do, we somehow turn it around to some victory on our part, like 'yeah, I showed her.' But this time, there was no way I could turn it around. I wrote about it because I felt very bad about being single, and not being happy about it, and hearing about all of these wonderful women who were literally waiting to meet nice guys. Well, I wasn't meeting any of them, so I wrote about it just to get it out of my system. This terrible date ended up being one of the chapters in Beeperless Remote."
The comedic author and contributing writer for the TV sitcom Grown Ups, turned what could have been simply a "date from hell" into two bestselling books, Beeperless Remote (1997) and Something's Wrong With Your Scale! both featuring ordinary guys trying to find their way on the dating scene.
Michael Baisden, whose provocative non-fiction book, Never Satisfied: How and Why Men Cheat, attributes the start of his writing career to an idea he had to write a pamphlet for women containing "a list of things to look out for to know when a man is cheating." He says, "I started writing the idea for the pamphlet, and the table of contents was so extensive -- I said, 'Hey, this would make a good book.' Baisden went on to enjoy a successful career as an author, lecturer, and relationship expert on issues dealing with male and female relationships. He later penned the novel, Men Cry in the Dark, to balance the negative portrayal of Black men in popular novels of the day.
Baisden agrees that there are more opportunities today for Black writers, but noted that the initial attention received by Black men was less than receptive, "Black women writers jumped on board and really benefited (from McMillan's success). However, most of the Black men who were picked up by publishing houses wrote about Black women and not necessarily from a Black male point of view. There are still only a handful who enjoy success while writing about heterosexual relationships from a Black male perspective."
When Black male writers receive the type of commercial sales and following previously enjoyed by only a handful of Black female writers, inevitably comparisons will surface. It almost begs the question, "Can Black male writers write about relationships without being compared to McMillan?" One such author, Eric Jerome Dickey, has consistently turned out a variety of work dealing with diverse subject matter in bestselling novels, Sister, Sister, Friends and Lovers, Milk in My Coffee, and most recently, Cheaters. Yet despite distinguishing himself among African American readers, Dickey is occasionally plagued by comparisons to McMillan in the white media. "I don't know where this label came from, as though I'm flipping through her book trying to figure out what she did? It's like, lazy journalism in a sense. Just let the writers be who they are. All of us have different personalities," he says.
Is there room for a Black male voice in romantic fiction? Ask Timmothy McCann, who is carving out a career in a genre previously dominated by white housewives, and a few black female writers. McCann, who discovered his writing talent after drafting dozens of love letters for college buddies to send home to their girlfriends, notes the positive changes in the industry. "When the phenomenon began with Exhale in '92, many of us were not being heard at all. New York (publishers) finally realized that Black women read, but they were having to buy Sidney Sheldon and Danielle Steele. This was pre-Terry (McMillan), pre- Alice Walker, pre-Toni (Morrison). Suddenly, every publisher was trying to find the next Alice Walker, the next Terry McMillan. When the movie for Exhale came out, some of the brothers accused her of male bashing. Well, Terry said, basically, 'I don't think my book is male bashing, but if you think it is, go out and write your own book. I'm not writing a documentary, this is fiction.' So, that's when I said, 'I think I'll do that.'"
McCann continues, "Men do write differently. Why? I think it's because we're just trained differently as little boys. We're not trained to show emotion. We're not trained to show our feelings. It's not okay to talk to our male friends on the phone for long periods of time, the way women do. We're not as communicative; but I think we do pay attention to detail and can be very narrative in our writing."
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Sssssss
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2003 - 12:08 am: |
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Interesting article. I liked it. |
Thumper
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2003 - 11:29 am: |
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Hello All,
Actually, I do believe we read this article a few years ago when it first came off the press. I do remember when many people were saying that Dickey was the male McMillan. I have always disagreed with that. As Crystal knows, Dickey is my boy. *big smile* Now that some time have passed, I will say that I like the male relationship authors better than the women authors. |
K
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2003 - 12:48 pm: |
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I'm with you Thump. men do write these types of novels better.
I think male authors tend to be less emotional. This makes the writting seem a little smoother. Women writters tend to get emotional and off track. |
Cynique
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2003 - 04:07 pm: |
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Tee and everybody, this article did provide some interesting insights. To me, it's hard to draw a line between the way women are, and the way a male author perceives them to be. Most men confess that they don't understand women. Maybe the next big challenge for all black authors would be to try and write a book wherein all the characters are white and all the situations are centered around a white lifestyle?? I bring this subject up because it is an example of why it's difficult to write about what you don't know. |
ABM
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2003 - 04:22 pm: |
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Oh, come on. It is easy for a man to write female characters well. Just do as Jack Nicholson's Melvin character (1997 Oscar-winning performance) suggests in the movie "As Good As It Gets": "I think of a man and take away
reason and accountability." |
Tee C. Royal
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 09:55 am: |
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Cynique, I'm with you on this one sis. And, I commend those men who can pull it off.
I also think it would be interesting to see a black author write a book with all white characters. Not saying it's impossible, but I'd like to see it. Takes you back to the subject of non-blacks writing books about the Black lifestyle...and on to "What Makes a Black Book Black? conversation that has creeped up quite a bit over the last year or so.
-Tee |
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