Y'all, I spent the weekend at a rugby tournament (yes rugby) and I am sunburned and bug-bitten. So I'm not blogging. But I did notice this interesting link to Preston Allen's site for his novel Jesus Boy thanks to Troy Johnson of AALBC.com (be sure to get their iPhone ap for reviews from their site & the New York Times). Allen discusses what it was like to be in O Magazine and what his books and the books of his publisher Akashic (which also published Glorious by Bernice McFadden, which also got a shout out in O Magazine) mean for readers. A little bit from him:
"When Akashic (my publisher) acquires a book, its primary mission is never to sell a million copies, but to give a platform to good books that are often overlooked by the bigger publishing houses. Akashic seeks in its catalogue excellence rather than mega-sales. Likewise, Akashic's writers seek to write the best books possible and therefore choose subject matter, content, and style that CONFIRM the integrity of the work of art rather than CONFORM to market tastes.
In other words, they are a lot like me. When I write, I never think about what you WANT to read; I think about what you NEED to read. I don't write for the pocketbook; I write for the soul."
Now, it's oatmeal bath time.
Oh, one more thing: if you're in L.A. this weekend, check out the Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival. Heidi Durrow, Tara Betts, Tai Babilonia, Marie Mockett, Celina Martinez, Neil Aitken and others (including me!) will be chatting about books and movies. The Mixed Chicks will be discussing it tomorrow on their popular web chat show.
Showing posts with label AALBC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AALBC. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
What is a "black novel"?
Let's play the old Sesame Street game: "One of these things is not like the others."
Which of these books is labled as a black novel as opposed to just a novel? I’m guessing that the prolific Donna Hill’s Wicked Ways is the book that most would associate with a predominately black audience. My question is why?
When it comes to nonfiction, the answer is obvious: a book about doing black hair or addressing health issues in the black community, etc. should be targeted to black readers. That makes sense. But what about novels? What makes a novel a black book?
It’s written by a black writer?
It’s got “black subject matter” (slavery, buppies (black yuppies), Tuskegee Airmen, the black church, the Civil Rights Movement, ghetto life, hip hop, BAPs (black American Princesses))?
The characters are black?
By those definitions, On Beauty, A Mercy, Run, and James Patterson’s Alex Cross mysteries would be considered black books, which they aren't. So maybe it’s a combination of the above factors. Say, if the author is black, the characters are black and the story is about black life, then it’s a black book.
But if that was the case, The Joy Luck Club would be a Chinese book. The Kite Runner would be an Afghani book. But I don’t think anybody thinks of them that way. Jennifer Weiner’s books aren’t written for and read by only a Jewish audience. I’m sure The Dirty Girls Social Club was marketed to Latinas, but also was promoted to a wider audience.
So what makes a novel a black book? Are there novels only black people would want to read? Street lit or urban lit, maybe? Again, I reject that argument because first, I’m not a reader of street lit and I’m black. And second, certainly more than Italian-Americans dig The Godfather, the ultimate gangsta story.
The Godfather is considered by many as literary fiction, as are Zadie Smith’s and Toni Morrison’s books. So then does literary merit decide what audience the book is marketed to? If it’s literary, white people will like it too? If so, who’s reading all those “trashy” books by white authors?
I’m at a loss for how it’s determined which books will be promoted to a wide audience and which books will (at least at first) be marketed only to black readers. The only criteria I can figure is that a so-called black book is one that will be read primarily by black people. But who decides that? How does anybody know which books will even find a large black audience?
This is the definition of black literature I’m going with. It’s from AALBC.com:
“The Black voice is distinctive and powerful. African American books explore the place of Black people in society, in their families, in their faith, and in their own minds. Books by Black authors share the commonality of all human experience while also outlining the uniqueness of being a person of color.”
This definition doesn’t deny that there may be differences between books written by blacks and books written by other ethnic groups. And it acknowledges that black books are books that anyone can read and enjoy.
Which of these books is labled as a black novel as opposed to just a novel? I’m guessing that the prolific Donna Hill’s Wicked Ways is the book that most would associate with a predominately black audience. My question is why?
When it comes to nonfiction, the answer is obvious: a book about doing black hair or addressing health issues in the black community, etc. should be targeted to black readers. That makes sense. But what about novels? What makes a novel a black book?
It’s written by a black writer?
It’s got “black subject matter” (slavery, buppies (black yuppies), Tuskegee Airmen, the black church, the Civil Rights Movement, ghetto life, hip hop, BAPs (black American Princesses))?
The characters are black?
By those definitions, On Beauty, A Mercy, Run, and James Patterson’s Alex Cross mysteries would be considered black books, which they aren't. So maybe it’s a combination of the above factors. Say, if the author is black, the characters are black and the story is about black life, then it’s a black book.
But if that was the case, The Joy Luck Club would be a Chinese book. The Kite Runner would be an Afghani book. But I don’t think anybody thinks of them that way. Jennifer Weiner’s books aren’t written for and read by only a Jewish audience. I’m sure The Dirty Girls Social Club was marketed to Latinas, but also was promoted to a wider audience.
So what makes a novel a black book? Are there novels only black people would want to read? Street lit or urban lit, maybe? Again, I reject that argument because first, I’m not a reader of street lit and I’m black. And second, certainly more than Italian-Americans dig The Godfather, the ultimate gangsta story.
The Godfather is considered by many as literary fiction, as are Zadie Smith’s and Toni Morrison’s books. So then does literary merit decide what audience the book is marketed to? If it’s literary, white people will like it too? If so, who’s reading all those “trashy” books by white authors?
I’m at a loss for how it’s determined which books will be promoted to a wide audience and which books will (at least at first) be marketed only to black readers. The only criteria I can figure is that a so-called black book is one that will be read primarily by black people. But who decides that? How does anybody know which books will even find a large black audience?
This is the definition of black literature I’m going with. It’s from AALBC.com:
“The Black voice is distinctive and powerful. African American books explore the place of Black people in society, in their families, in their faith, and in their own minds. Books by Black authors share the commonality of all human experience while also outlining the uniqueness of being a person of color.”
This definition doesn’t deny that there may be differences between books written by blacks and books written by other ethnic groups. And it acknowledges that black books are books that anyone can read and enjoy.
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