Title: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American SlaveAuthor: Frederick DouglassPublished: 1845Genre: Non-fiction, Autobiography, Slave Narrative I regret that I only now got to this book. I mentioned in my first post months ago that literature written by Black authors wasn’t a big part of my curriculum in high school, so I’m only nowContinue reading “A Look at “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave””
Tag Archives: african american
“Are Prisons Obsolete?” by Angela Davis (Noname’s Book Club July Selection)
Title: Are Prisons Obsolete?Author: Angela Y. DavisPublished: 2003Genre: Non-fiction, Politics & Sociology So not long ago I read an essay by civil rights attorney Derecka Purnell titled “How I Became a Police Abolitionist.” In it, Purnell detailed the rough neighborhood she grew up in, the police’s inability to solve the real issues in her community,Continue reading ““Are Prisons Obsolete?” by Angela Davis (Noname’s Book Club July Selection)”
Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”: A Look at How Racism Is Internalized
Title: The Bluest EyeAuthor: Toni MorrisonPublished: 1970Genre: Fiction Blurb: The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison’s first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author’s girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blueContinue reading “Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”: A Look at How Racism Is Internalized”
Another Look at “The Underground Railroad”: The American Imperative
I remember, back when I was in middle school, learning in a history class about this concept called manifest destiny. This was during lessons about American westward expansion during the 19th century — the Louisiana Purchase, the annexation of Texas, Oregon Territory, etc. Manifest destiny was described as a sort of religious calling; the “literalContinue reading “Another Look at “The Underground Railroad”: The American Imperative”
A Look at Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad”: The Antebellum Era
Title: The Underground RailroadAuthor: Colson WhiteheadPublished: 2016Genre: Alternate History Synopsis: Cora is a young slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. An outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is on the cusp of womanhood — where greater pain awaits. And so when Caesar, a slave who has recently arrived from Virginia, urges her toContinue reading “A Look at Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad”: The Antebellum Era”
‘Imago’ by Octavia E. Butler
Title: ImagoAuthor: Octavia E. ButlerPublished: 1989Genre: Science Fiction Synopsis: Child of the Earth and Stars, Jodahs can create, shapeshift, heal the maimed, cure cancer, create contagion with every breath, or mutate the ground with a touch. Jodahs is an ooloi, a being beyond gender, born with the alien Oankali power to mix pure DNA withinContinue reading “‘Imago’ by Octavia E. Butler”
‘An American Marriage’ by Tayari Jones
Title: An American MarriageAuthor: Tayari JonesPublished: 2018Genre: Fiction Synopsis: A captivating love story that is also a clear-eyed look at the effects of injustice in contemporary American life, Tayari Jones’s novel gorgeously chronicles three people who are bound together and separated by forces beyond their control.As newlyweds, Celestial and Roy are living the American Dream.Continue reading “‘An American Marriage’ by Tayari Jones”
‘Adulthood Rites’ by Octavia E. Butler
Title: Adulthood RitesAuthor: Octavia E. ButlerPublished: 1988Genre: Science Fiction Synopsis: Lilith’s baby, Akin, looks human. He is not. The alien Oankali, driven by irresistible need, have genetically merged with us. But there are rebels who resist the Oankali tide. Childless humans desperate to regain their world, they seek to “cleanse” the “alien taint” by kidnappingContinue reading “‘Adulthood Rites’ by Octavia E. Butler”
‘Dawn’ by Octavia E. Butler
Title: DawnAuthor: Octavia E. ButlerPublished: 1987Genre: Science Fiction Synopsis: Lilith Ayapo is in the remote Andes, mourning the death of her husband and son, when nuclear war destroys the world. Centuries later, she revives, held captive aboard a starship.Miraculously powerful and hideously grotesque galactic beings, the Oankali have rescued the planet and the war’s victimsContinue reading “‘Dawn’ by Octavia E. Butler”
‘Kindred’ by Octavia E. Butler
Title: KindredAuthor: Octavia E. ButlerPublished: June 1979Genre: Narrative Fiction, Science Fiction Synopsis: Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana hasContinue reading “‘Kindred’ by Octavia E. Butler”
A Black Lit Blog 