It's time to D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read)

What are you reading? Although my time has been filled with extra Juiciness since Juicy Boy was born, I still try to read good books. Well, let me rephrase that. I try to read good literature. I like to read books by some mainstream authors like Jane Smiley, Michael Crichton, Amy Tan, and Wally Lamb, but I really enjoy reading good African American literature.

Now, let me be clear, I am not speaking of the new "street lit" category of books being passed off as literature in some books stores and libraries. Zane doesn't do it for me. Neither does Sista Souljah. I am talking about books by writers like Zora Neale Hurston, Marie-elena John, Pearl Cleage, Benilda Little, Toni Morrison, Martha Southgate, Alice Walker, Lalita Tademy, Gloria Naylor, Suzan-Lori Parks, Bebe Campbell Moore, Ntozake Shange, and even Zadie Smith. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. I am talking about books that transport me to another place and/or time; books that make me think; books that explore people from the African diaspora; books that challenge my current thought; books that inspire; books that move me; books that make me laugh; books where the characters are people I know in real life; books that sometimes slip in some new vocabulary; books that share the Black experience that I know; books that tell a wonderful story.

I have been trying to find good literature to read for the past two years and...it has been difficult. I go in the bookstore and see what's on the newly released shelves and find...little or nothing. I go to the featured new writers shelves and find...little or nothing. I peruse the shelves in alphabetical order looking for new releases from my favorite authors to find...little or nothing. I've asked some of my friends for suggestions of titles that I may have missed only to find out they are in the same situation. What is going on? Why the dearth of good African American literature?

There may be several reasons that African American literature is not hitting the shelves the way it used to. One reason is that "street lit" is extremely popular and profitable. Another reason is that many great authors take awhile to write quality novels. Martha Southgate, author of Third Girl from the Left (which I enjoyed), wrote a book review for "The New York Times" that may explain a few more reasons for the limited supply of quality African American literature. You can read her article here.

To assist people like me who are searching for works by African American authors, Southgate and a few colleagues created a new blog called ringShout. It is a very basic blog, and is in it's infancy, but it has a book list that carries out its mission of "recognizing, reclaiming and celebrating excellence in contemporary literary fiction and nonfictionby black writers in the United States." YES!

If you are as excited about this website and specifically this book list, please take a look at it here and go to the book stores, libraries, book sale websites and request these titles and authors. Maybe if we request these books and others like it, publishers will take note and print more quality literature in larger quantities. It's worth a try...

Happy reading!