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Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 112
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 12:36 pm: | 
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All that jabber-jabber on the “culture” side and ain’t nobody said nothin ‘bout reading nothin on this book club site.
What I’ve read:
Now Is The Time To Open Your Heart by Alice Walker. I liked it. I remember a not so good review that was posted here but I can’t find it now for any actual rebuttals. Anyway, I love her descriptions and maybe it’s an age thing we share but I can feel Kate’s wish to explore where she’s been and where she’s going. Except ain’t no way I’m going to spend a week in the rainforest with all those critters. I don’t care how good the herbals are.
He Had It Coming by Camika Spencer. Very you-go-girlish. I almost didn’t finish it but I was interested in how the author was gonna end it – weak btw. Story of some women who take issue with a male writer’s way of relating to women and who kidnap him to try to force a change in attitude. The plot was ridiculous – they should have ganged up on ‘ol boy and beat him down in the beginning. There was some truth in the book though – a cheating man who blames his cheating on his fiance – “why didn’t you stop her – you knew she was after me” kinda thing. I hate that twisting the blame shyt!
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Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 652
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 12:43 pm: |
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I've been reading the posts over on the "Culture" side--very interesting. |
Bleekindigo
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Bleekindigo
Post Number: 97
Registered: 06-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 01:21 pm: |
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Chrishayden!! That was funny!!!
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Shevi
Newbie Poster
Username: Shevi
Post Number: 11
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 02:27 pm: |
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I've recently read...
Drive Me Crazy - Eric Jerome Dickey
A Womans Worth - Tracy Price Thompson
Camilla's Roses - Bernice McFadden
Bling - Erica Kennedy
Lemon City - Elaine Brown
I enjoyed them all!
Reading now....
Red Light Wives by Mary Monroe and loving it!!!
Also the battle on the Culture Board  |
Carey
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 247
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 09:40 pm: |
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Hello Crystal
So you read Camika's new book huh. Did you read her first book and if so what did you think of it?
Camika was a regular postee on this board before she got her break. Her first book "When all hell breaks loose", was first published in paperback before she was picked up by her new publisher. Yep, she was much like Sisgal and Chris (struggling authors who post at this site ). She stuck with it and got a deal. The last I heard she was with Villard Books out of New York.
Anyway, I hate to hear that you didn't like it. But hey, ol'girl got her break while she was right here on Thumper's Corner. |
Carey
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 248
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 09:47 pm: |
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Hello All
I don't think what I've been doing over on the culture boardwalk can be called reading. I think it should be called "fast skimming". I mean, how many way can you cuss out a person *smile*. Talking about looooooooong posts, gee wiz! See, I'm to the point that I just look to see if my name pops-up anywhere. If it does, I scan uuuuuuup to see who wrote the post and then I decide if I will read the rest. oooouuuu weeeee, dey slingin' mud over der.
Carey
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Whistlingwoman
Regular Poster
Username: Whistlingwoman
Post Number: 49
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 09:57 pm: |
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Hey, Folks---
Here's what I've been reading. . .
Brooklyn Noir - Anthology of crime fiction.
Louisiana Lament - Julie Smith
Orange Crushed - Pamela Thomas Graham (third book in the Ivy League mystery series)
The Solace of Leaving Early - Haven Kimmel
Summer Snow : Reflections of a Black Daughter of the South - Trudier Harris
Whistling Woman |
Jmho
Veteran Poster
Username: Jmho
Post Number: 68
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 10:35 pm: |
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Crystal, I've just started reading Ian Smith's The Blackbird Papers. Too soon to make any comments. I will be reading Walker's lastest book soon. |
Whistlingwoman
Regular Poster
Username: Whistlingwoman
Post Number: 50
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 11:09 pm: |
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JMHO---
I finished The Blackbird Papers a couple weeks ago. Ready to discuss when you are.
W.W. |
Tee
Veteran Poster
Username: Tee
Post Number: 64
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 24, 2004 - 01:36 am: |
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I recently finished The Tribe by Gregory Townes and it was quite a delight. After reading the "my man cheated on me, but I'm still with him" type of books I was VERY HAPPY to get a taste of something new. Though a newcomer, Townes does not disappoint...this is one of my favorites for the year! It hits the stands next month, so please be sure to check it out. Here's a synopsis:
Synopsis - The Dead know what the Living are doing. A 19th Century slave trader brought back more than just slaves on one voyage. He brought back the Curse of the Silver Eyes. A powerful tribe of shunned blacks, each born with silver eyes, the symbol of infinity as a birthmark and blessed with incredible gifts, were captured by a slave trader and dispersed around the world. The tribe cursed those that stole them—and the neighboring tribes that aided in their capture. Today, there is a group that wants to make that curse come true. And they’ve kidnapped a very special eight-year-old girl named Star to do it. All that stands in their way is her father, David Peters.
It's like a horror/supernatural/thriller all rolled up in one.
Prior to that, I read Dying in the Dark by Valerie Wilson Wesley and it was a bit slow for me. While I love the mystery genre, this one didn't do much for me. I easily figured out who did it and the pace was just too slow. I'm assuming her books are stand-alone, but this was the first one of her mysteries I've read.
WW/JMHO, I also read and enjoyed The BlackBird Papers. I read it a few months back, about 30 books ago, but I can probably participate as well. I think it was a very good first effort.
Next up is The Pact for my book club meeting on Saturday and Eric Pete's new book, Gets No Love.
-Tee |
Soul_sister
Newbie Poster
Username: Soul_sister
Post Number: 13
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 24, 2004 - 09:39 am: |
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Sounds like some good titles that I need to check out - I would like to know what anyone thought about A Woman's Worth - I have it but it seemed trite - help sell me on this one. As for The Tribe - that sounds off the hook - I suppose for me its more about genre than anything else -- keep up the good leads -- all
peace |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 659
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 24, 2004 - 10:24 am: |
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Actually when I think about it I have been reading--It seems like I'm doing everything in kind of in a daze it seems like in my story "We Are On the Moon":
LT on the Edge by Lawrence Taylor
The Books of Charles Fort
Jazz (the companion book to the series--so I can be ready to bust Cynique)
Chesty (biography of Lt Gen Lewis B. Puller)
The Essential Fantastic Four Volume 3 (so I can point Abm to the pathways of righteousness)
I'm supposed to read that Toure book in a while |
Tee
Veteran Poster
Username: Tee
Post Number: 65
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 24, 2004 - 12:23 pm: |
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Soul_sister, you should RUN TO READ A Woman's Worth! Tracy Price-Thompson can write! The strength of her writing, matched with the plot and characters, and don't forget: a man's love for his child...oh my, oh my. She touches on so many things in this book, to include cultural differences, traditions, friendships, and relationships with friends and family.
You can't get too much better that that. While I will admit that the whole idea of female circumcision turned me off, the book is so much more than that. It's simply one of the best books I've ever read. I really liked her previous effort, but I LOVED this one...it's one that I think will stand the test of time in the literary industry.
You can tell that Price-Thompson studies the art of writing too. I was really happy to see an author step away from the "same ole, same ole" books flooding the market.
Sooooooooo, please check it out SS and let me know what'cha think.
-Tee |
Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 115
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 24, 2004 - 01:51 pm: |
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Hello All.
Carey, no I haven't read Camika's earlier books and I don't remember her here but it may have been before my time - although I've been here a while. Don't get me wrong - I'm happy she seems to be a successful author. Just not my style I guess.
Jmho & WW, I enjoyed The Blackbird Papers - except for one part - which I won't go into now cause I don't want to spoil it for you.
Tee, since Chris got me back on horror stories I'll be looking for The Tribe - sounds good.
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Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 62
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2004 - 12:28 am: |
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On the black hand side, I read:
Jasminium by Jonathan Luckett: An erotic mystery from Zane's Strebor imprint. Well-written and muy caliente. Highly Recommended.
Shades of Retribution by newcomer Chandra Adams: Interesting novel about three women involved in illegal activities in the past. Two of the women want revenge on the other. It's suspenseful. Recommended.
On my bookshelf for next month:
The Root of All Evil by Joylynn Jossel: Street lit
Gettin' to THE GOOD WOOD by E. Joyce Moore: A combination of poetry and essays on male/female relationships and self-discovery.
Later,
Emanuel Carpenter
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Eviana
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Eviana
Post Number: 91
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2004 - 01:14 am: |
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Has anyone read The Hottest Summer Ever Known? |
Carey
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 249
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2004 - 07:29 am: |
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Hello
Crystal, Camika's first book was published by Akimac. A quick glance and one can see that's Camika spelled backwords. You know, I didn't realize it was so long ago until I blew the dust off of her book and noticed my copy was signed Dec 1998. You were right, I don't think you were posting back then. Btw, when did you start posting? Were you a lurker for very long. I've often wondered how long a person lurks before they decide to post. I probably wouldn't be to far off if I said some never post yet have been visiting for years. There are obvious reasons why that would be but fear is probably one of them. Heck, with all that's been happening up in here it's a surprise anyone would risk doing so. But as I've noticed over the years, one can stay clear of that mess if they choose to. I wouldn't want to be in Thump's position for nothing in the world. Since it's his house he has to jump in when things get ugly.
Anyway, I saw that your boy Roy Toy got his poot-sack knocked off again last night (I think it was you?). What's that clown going to say this time. It did my heart good to see him face down the last time he fought and this is icing on the cake. It's time for him to take a long bow and go back to feeding his chickens and stankin' pit bulls and leave the boxing game to those that can box and not run around pretending to be a fighter. But as in life, you can fake it for only so long. It's kind of like love affairs, you wake up one day and look a your "lover" and wonder. You wonder what the hell you ever saw in that person. Was it the sex. One starts to look back over the years and second guess their lives. All the should-of's and could of's lands smack on your face. Did you settle for this person because you where lonely is one of the questions that frequently crosses the mind. Anyway, I don't know why I went there but hey, sometimes the mind is a terrible thang, it takes you places thet you don't even want to be!
Okay, I'm done, I don't wish to go to far down memory lane. But oh my, memories, that's what we are made of, memories.
Carey
I started to break out my Sunday morning thang but I took a rain check. Where you around when I used to pen them? I often wondered how they were received.
Come to think of it, this posts flavor sort of has that feel. Oh well, memories!
Carey |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 1387
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2004 - 12:02 pm: |
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Carey,
http://www.thumperscorner.com/discus/messages/179/1695.html?1096214427 . |
Bmcn
Newbie Poster
Username: Bmcn
Post Number: 5
Registered: 08-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 01:16 am: |
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I'm sorry, but this has nothing to do with literature. But, I happen to go online last night with my daughters. My head was turned slightly when my 13 year old screamed: "Whoa..whoa." She was jumping off the floor, gesturing wildly. "Look, Pop! Look!" Her words rushed out.
I turned see what the heck was wrong. She pointed at a picture. A shirtless black man was flat on his back. The guy had an expression that could have stolen from a corpse. His hands were frozen beside his body near his hips. It gave him the appearance of a 'two by four'. That's when my 11 year old ran in and saw it.
She sounded like John Houston in the last reel of the movie 'Chinatown' after Faye Dunaway's head ate a lead booger when detective Loach's snub nosed .38 sneezed. Yeah honey, that's LA. A hole in Mrs. Mulray's alabaster forehead. And the juke box said it best -- smoke gets in your eyes.
My girl's face contorted to the point where she could have been the grizzled old coot. She bellowed: "Wooo..lard..woo..lard! Weee..lard. Oh..noooo..who hooo!"
I said: "What? What?"
The 11 year old took on a Gomer Pyle stuffed mouth groan: "Goll..har..lee! Roy Jones ded! He ded..he ded..he ded! Goll..haaar..leeee!"
Take this anyway you want, but what the hello happen? |
Carey
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 252
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 06:03 am: |
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BMCN
Ahhh.....Ahhhhh, I think what done happened is Toy Boy, chicken boy, done lost his balance. See, he forgot to duck before he got F*&ked, and landed on his back! Now of course you can't tell your little daughter this but you can break it down for her. Just tell her Ol' Roy goin' home. He might have to leave something behind. I think all that country talk he's so prone to let fall out of that stupid mouth might not accompany him. But then again he is stupid. Now who is he going to fight......Ms. Ali. Now that would be a goooood fight. My money is on Ali.
Carey |
Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 118
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 12:07 pm: |
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Carey, I can't remember how long I've been here but it's been years. Not quite 1998 though. I didn't lurk long. I'm not much of a "talker" but books are someting I do talk about.
I don't care for boxing but happened to be around for that knockout which proved my whole point - that poor boy's eyes were rolling around in their sockets. Terrible! How come they put me out the room?
So, Carey, back to the original question: what are YOU reading? |
Carey
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 254
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 12:32 pm: |
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Ooooh, please excuse me, that was the original question wasn't it.
Well, actually I am reading two. One is "Love and Death in Brooklyn" and the other is "Schooling Carmen" by Kathleen Cross. I am waaaay behind in my reading. I have plenty of excuses why I'm behind but that's another story. I just finished "Althea" by our one and only, Linda Watkins". If I could only read as fast as I run my mouth, I then would be in to something. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 1391
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 12:43 pm: |
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Crystal,
Okay. I'll bite.
I'm currently reading James Baldwin's "The Devil Finds Work" ('Work). 'Work is a series of Baldwin's essays that both examine White popular culture (circa early - late-middle 1900's) in of itself and juxtaposes it with that of Black people, including specifically himself.
For example, Baldwin makes an interesting observation that because of his proportionately large eyes as a child he was viewed by most whom he met to be "strange" if not "ugly" (his step-father's choice description of him) looking yet at that time the reigning glamour queen of Hollywood was actress Betty Davis (who had eyes the size of a 16-inch softball).
James Baldwin is easily one of the greatest American essayist of the 20th Century. His writing is often so eloquent it almost blisters the page. I consider it a MUST-READ for anyone who seek to make potent/effective arguments (e.g., attorneys, politicians, activists, etc.)
A profound quote from Baldwin's 'Work: "...I never managed to hate White people - though, GOD knows, I have often wished to murder more than one or two." |
Bleekindigo
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Bleekindigo
Post Number: 110
Registered: 06-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 12:58 pm: |
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Abm: I agree. James Baldwin, at least in my own limited reading experience is by far one of the greatest essayists i've read.
I skim The Price of the Ticket at least once a month. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 669
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 11:11 am: |
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Abm and Bleek:
I gotta agree with you there. I like the collection of essays that Toni Morrison pulled together for what was it Random House--The Fire Next Time is his best one for me.
You know at times I shook my head over his essays because he seemed to lack control--the ones he did involving Richard Wright lacked logic--but Baldwin wasn't about logic, he was about passion--he was still preaching as he had as a teenager in Harlem.
After 1970 or so he was considered by a lot of people passe--it happens to everybody sooner or later--I think what happened was you had Malcolm X, Eldridge Cleaver, Stokeley, Huey P. Newton, George Jackson-- a lot of brothers who were mixing their writing with a program (Baldwin did get involved but he was primarily an artist and they were primarily activists--his essays point out the problems with American society fine but he never has any solutions--"Love is the solution? Love is the answer? How do you create a practical program from that?
Also he never seemed to get over his upbringing in Harlem--he mentions in in almost every essay--it must have been very tough for a very sensitive boy to come up in the way he did--I know a couple of brothers like that--tried to raise 'em like they was field hands and railroad workers and it scarred 'em up.
Stanley Crouch, of all people, sites him as a major influence. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 1418
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 11:47 am: |
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Chris,
I agree his musings about his elder contemporary Richard Wright were often extraordinary harsh. But I have always suspected he had a ‘thang’ for Wright that was in part hero worship, part professional rivalry and part unrequited passion.
Baldwin was emotionally invested in his essays. They often seemed paradoxically vengeful and salvational. I could easily imagining him reviling White people one moment and in another lovingly slobbering in their open arms.
And I agree he was often a bit too autobiographical. It almost like even though he was blessed to have traveled the world and been adored by both pauper and prince he never could resolve and reconcile where/how he grew up.
But I suppose that was in part what made his writing special. You got the sense that you were partaking of eloquent journey of both external and internal discovery and that perhaps by going on with him you might find a greater world and yourself as well. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 677
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 05:35 pm: |
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Abm:
As Ronnie Reagan would say, there you go again.
It wasn't like that at all. Baldwin once made a telling remark to Wright when Wright asked him why he kept running him down.
"We must all slay our fathers," he said.
Wright was Tha Man back then. The HNIC of Black letters. The top banana.
His legacy his towering image was an inspiration to the younger writers as well as a threat. They feared they would all have to live up to what he had done--equal if not top stuff like Native Son, Black Boy.
Baldwin in particular at the time felt constricted by Wright's position as a protest writer and also his views about the uses writing was to be put to. Baldwin wanted the freedom to express himself as he wanted, to not have to write protest novels (then he writes "Blues For Mr. Charlie" and "The Fire Next Time"--go figure).
"There you go with that art for art's sake crap again," Wright was supposed to have huffed at him during one exchange.
There are others of more conspiratorial bent who think he was put up to it--either by rightists out to discredit Wright or leftists out to put a knife in him for what they felt was abandonment of the struggle--but I haven't read anything about that |
Philly_bbw
Newbie Poster
Username: Philly_bbw
Post Number: 9
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 05:50 pm: |
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Can someone tell me who wrote Camilla's Roses?
Thanks |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 1440
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 10:41 pm: |
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Camilla's Roses was written by Bernice L. McFadden |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 1441
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 11:01 pm: |
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James Baldwin was the original diva; passionate in his vaccillations, particularly about race as evidenced by the fact that the love of his life was a white man from Europe. There could be something autobiographical about that fact were we to speculate about the impact a cruel stepfather had on Baldwin's psyche. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 1488
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 11:53 am: |
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Chris,
Imagine your assessment of what happened is better than that of my own. I won’t pretend to know definitively why Baldwin apparently sought to antagonize Wright. And I do seem to remember something about his seeking to (figuratively) kill his literary sire, Wright.
Though, part of me suspects that that "We must all slay our fathers," reply was a convenient answer for him to tender to disguise his truer, less rational feelings.
But, the texture of some of what he writes about Wright is suggestive of some deeper disdain. I mean, when I read some of what Baldwin says about Wright, I can’t help getting the impression he was somewhere in a corner seething with rage (and envy?).
And I (still) get the impression that he resented Wright because he felt ‘personally’ rejected by him. Perhaps not in a sexual way (though, considering Baldwin’s ‘persuasion’, that was quite possible). But there definitely appeared to be something ‘personal’ going on there, at least from Baldwin’s side of the aisle. Wright’s criticisms of Baldwin, however, appeared to be more artist/literary in nature.
Cynique,
Baldwin was indeed a literary "diva" in the truest sense. But I never got the impression that Baldwin harbored contradictory feelings about White foks in general.
Yes, he resented what they did. Still, he seemed to enjoy mutually-productive relationships with Whites where/when they would allow such (One of my favorite TV interviews was that of [White] TV host Charlie Rose interviewing Baldwin not long before he died. You could tell they had a true/genuine, almost giddy, regard for each other both professionally/personally.). That is why he spent much (if not most) of his adult life in Europe.
So Baldwin’s having a European lover was not evidence of any personal contradiction. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 1461
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 01:27 pm: |
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Well, Abm, my point was that Baldwin had a love/hate relationship with the white race. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 1494
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 01:52 pm: |
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Cynique,
Then I suppose we agree. |
Bleekindigo
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Bleekindigo
Post Number: 125
Registered: 06-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 02:32 pm: |
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Abm, i've seen interviews with Baldwin. He is intriguing to watch and listen to isn't he. He held a likeable arrogance about him to.
I've always wondered how he managed to love a white man and write of his disdain for them so severly.
But I guess it is that love/hate thing you mentioned Cyn.
And, then, I guess being a lover and bearing the burden of being writer /artist/illuminator/preacher/teacher-have not much to do with the other? Burden?
Bleek |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 1504
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 03:10 pm: |
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Bleekindigo,
Yes. He was a remarkable man. He did have a fiery arrogance about him. But I think that that was a self-made shield he created for himself because he grew up think he was ugly and unloved.
That's also probably why he was such a wondrous writer. There was a certainly fury there that bordered on a form of vengence (Fine. You say I'm ugly, unloved, GODLESS...But I'll prove ALL YAWL @$$ wrong. I'll be the best MOFO author...EVER!).
I suspect had be been a bigger more powerful man he likely would have been a championship, Olympic caliber athelete. Because his passion would have required him to be so.
And I don't think he loathe Whites. I think it wasn't even that much about them at all. I'm not saying he was insincere about how he felt about what they did (do). But I think to a certain degree White foks provided a convenient dragon upon which an enraged literary champion could slay.
Moreover, I think his greatest 'villians' were the stepfather who raised him, the bloodfather he never knew and the GOD who placed him the tortuous life he endured to begin with. |
Bimsha
Regular Poster
Username: Bimsha
Post Number: 29
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 08:02 pm: |
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I started reading the View from Here, Brian Keith Jackson -- any thoughts on this particular read??? |
Dmello
Newbie Poster
Username: Dmello
Post Number: 6
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 09:07 pm: |
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Hey Bimsha,
I read The View From Here when it first came out (1997-98?) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It remains one of my favorite reads to this day. |
Philly_bbw
Newbie Poster
Username: Philly_bbw
Post Number: 15
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 10:15 pm: |
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Is anyone into the Vampire thing? I am currently reading a Vampire Huntress series that is off the chain. L.A.Banks has a series out starting with book number one-Minion. I finished it in a matter of hours, and am already half way through the second one-The Awakening. Sistah Gurl is off the chain, and the stories are fast paced. It's not your typical Count Dracula story. It's modern 2004 and the characters draw you right in. I'm loving it. If you like Buffy and Anne Rice this is perfect for you. I don't normally read in this genre, but I'm glad I picked the books up, not I can't put them down! |
Jmho
Veteran Poster
Username: Jmho
Post Number: 73
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 10:57 pm: |
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Bimsha wrote:
I started reading the View from Here, Brian Keith Jackson -- any thoughts on this particular read???
Bimsha, I read this one a few years ago. I enjoyed reading it. Thought the premise was original. Very good writing and story-telling. |
High_density
Newbie Poster
Username: High_density
Post Number: 10
Registered: 08-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 07:48 pm: |
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Ahm,
I love Jimmie Baldwin! Another Country is classic literature I must read again. I agree Mr. Baldwin's essays and non-fiction are some of the best written. I read The Fire Next Time as an eighth grader and I still remember his passionate writing and brillant ideas.
If Beale Street could Talk is also great. I never forgot the painful love story of Fonnie and Trish.
Today, my husband received a birthday card from my sister and the U.S. Stamp featured a picture of Jimmie Baldwin. Yes, I wept. About ten years ago, his biography was feature on the PBS series "An American Experience". When I saw the documentary, all I could do was cry and remember how I missed the chance to see Jimmie when he visited a local college near my home. That night, a tornado came through the city and it actually touched down in a nearby mall, so I missed my one and only opportunity to meet Jimmie. Shortly after his visit to my city, Jimmie died.
Just the painted memories of his greatness remain.
I think Langston Hughes wrote in one of his poems: "Jimmie, Jimmie, have you heard?"
My, my, I miss Jimmie Baldwin.
Now it is time to pickup his books again.
Any recommendations?
Cheers!
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High_density
Newbie Poster
Username: High_density
Post Number: 11
Registered: 08-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 07:55 pm: |
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Has anyone read, "The Known World" by Edward P. Jones. The book won a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award last year (if I recall correctly).
Books I plan to read this month:
Oxherding Tales, Charles Johnson.
May re-read Percival Everette's Erasure.
I need to finsh "The Secret Life of Bees" and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
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Whistlingwoman
Veteran Poster
Username: Whistlingwoman
Post Number: 52
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 07:59 pm: |
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Edward Jones also won a MacArthur Genius Grant this week. He had a short story collection about D.C. that was great. Can't remember the name.
The Known World is on my long term list. Maybe Christmas. |
Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 129
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 07:59 pm: |
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High Density - yes, I read The Known World and really liked it. I believe there's a couple of long messages on the board about it. |
Tee
Veteran Poster
Username: Tee
Post Number: 73
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 03:13 pm: |
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Philly_bbw, hey and welcome! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the Vampire Huntress series, I too loved the first two and can't seem to get the third back from my husband. We had this discussion on the boards last year and Minion was one of those you either love it or hate it books.
I loved it!
Have you read any of her other work she writes as Leslie Esdaile, most of which are her romance titles?
She has two new books coming out later this fall. I hope to check them out. I think one is a mystery, but I'll check when I go back downstairs to make sure.
-Tee |
Klb
Regular Poster
Username: Klb
Post Number: 50
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 12:42 pm: |
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I just finished Red light Wives- It was o.k., I liked the way the author didn't take the pretty woman route to getting the characters out of the profession. I just wish thier discovery of self worth hadn't been centered around a man. I give it a B-.
I'm working on Zadie Smith's The Autograoph Man. It has been on my list for a while now. So far- So good
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Philly_bbw
Newbie Poster
Username: Philly_bbw
Post Number: 20
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 07:30 pm: |
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Tee- First off hello, and thanks for the warm welcome.
I started out reading her Soul Food series before picking up Minion. I found out who she was because we are signed under the same publishing house. I love her work. I'll be starting the Hunted this weekend, and am I so loving Carlos! I have a thing for the "bad guy" in stories and he is the truth. |
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