Happy Birthday Toni Morrison!

Toni Morrison was born 82 years ago as Chloe Ardelia Wofford in Lorain, Ohio.

Throughout the course of a literary career that has spanned nearly 50 years, Morrison began as an editor who helped shape the careers of Toni Cade Bambera and Gayl Jones.

She published her first novel The Bluest Eye in 1970. Morrison went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved and in 2012 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In the video below, Morrison discusses my favorite novel Paradise,  and her thoughts on critics.

Video: Letters from Zora In Her Own Words: Starring Vanessa Bell Calloway

I love Zora Neale Hurston. I also love actress Vanessa Bell Calloway. So I was overjoyed when someone sent me the link to this video.

Playwright Gabrielle Pina has written a one-woman-show starring Vanessa as the legendary writer. This play looks amazing. I am so happy that someone has taken the time to give Zora the respect her story deserves. Check out the video here:

Thoughts on Rereading Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones

I first read Leaving Atlanta a few years ago.  Now I am rereading the book as part of my online Black Girl With a Pen Book Club.   Leaving Atlanta is the stunning debut novel of literary rock star, Tayari Jones. The novel is set in the Atlanta during the height of what we all know as the Atlanta Child Murders. In real life, between 1979 and 1982 twenty-nine African American children and young adults disappeared, some who later turned up murdered.

The novel examines the abductions and murders from the perspective of three fifth graders, each affected in some way or another by the crimes. Tayari, who was born and raised in Atlanta, has a unique perspective of the story that gripped a nation for over two years. As a child coming of age during the murders, she knew two of the young victims personally. On her website, the writer explains: As the survivors, we have a responsibility to tell the story... the time had come for someone of my generation, to tell the tale from the vantage point of the playground."

The novel is told in three distinct yet interwoven tales. The fifth graders, LaTasha Baxter, Rodney Green, and Octavia Fuller have a lot in common. Each is a bit of an outcast in their class. They aren't what you would call friends, but they are connected by the bonds of the others. They come from different families of varying socioeconomic background, but the sense of loneliness they feel connect them in ways that not even they understand.

In Part One entitled "Magic Words," the reader is introduced to LaTasha, a girl whose parents are in the midst of a separation just as she returns to school for the fifth grade. LaTasha longs to be popular and has spent all summer practicing jump rope and jacks so that she can make a good impression on her classmates. LaTasha's perspective is given in the third person, allowing the reader a full picture of her experiences. Part Two entitled "The Opposite Direction of Home," we are reintroduced to Rodney, the boy LaTasha deemed the weirdest kind in school. Rodney is an intelligent, quiet loner who longs for his father's approval but accepts that he will never truly have it. Rodney's second person account is without question the most chilling section of the novel. Lastly, in Part Three, entitled "Sweet Pea," we get a first person account of Octavia's life and how she is dealing with the heightened fear that permeates Atlanta in the midst of the abductions.

Leaving Atlanta is haunting to say the least. Tayari’s use of detail is exquisite. The fear that the children feel is palpable. Tayari also explores parent/child relationships in a manner that is emotional and heartfelt. The greatest strength of the novel is Jones' success at balancing the sense of fear, with the everyday growing pains of adolescence that the three kids experience.

Leaving Atlanta is a remarkable novel and an incredible starting point of what is destined to be a long and amazing literary career for Tayari Jones. The novel is being adapted into a short film (progress can be followed via Twitter. You can learn more about Tayari on her website, blog, and interactive Twitter page.

Video: The Danger of a Single Story (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

While browsing Youtube videos,  I came across this lecture by my new favorite writer, the Nigerian-born Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  In the lecture, The Danger of a Single Story, she discusses the danger of having a singular view of a country or culture.  She explains how literature must provide multiple views.

Check out the video here:




Chimamanda has an amazing perspective and a great sense of humor. This lecture gave me excellent insight to her point of view as a writer.

Thoughts on Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells the story of the Biafran War that ravaged Nigeria between 1967 and 1970. The story is told through the lens of five remarkable characters: Olanna, her lover Odenigbo, his houseboy Ugwu, her twin sister Kainene and her lover, Richard. Olanna and Kainene come from a privileged Igbo family.  Odenigbo is a university professor whom Kainene refers to as “the revolutionary.” Richard is a white Englishman who identifies as a Biafran. They each represent the elite. Ugwu, on the other hand comes from a rural village.

What I love about the book is the depth of the characters.  Chimamanda crafts memorable and human characters that make the reader love, feel contempt for and empathize with them all at the same time.  Each of the protagonists is flawed, almost tragically so.  They commit seemingly unforgivable acts, but you never want to write them off. Chimamanda never judges her characters.  They are living in the midst of war; you understand them. War is ugly. It can bring out the worst in people.

I also enjoyed the relationship between the twins, Olanna and Kainene.  Their relationship runs that gamut of emotions.  It starts out tense because they aren’t as close as they once were.   And then it becomes estranged and they don’t speak at all.  But eventually the sisters manage to mend fences and regain their relationship.  As Kainene states: “There are some things that are so unforgivable that they make other things easily forgivable” (435).  

Chimamanda effectively incorporates the Igbo language into the text.  In doing so, she paints a vivid picture of the land during a time of war (a war that ended before her birth).  Chimamanda juxtaposes the sights and sounds before the war with the rigid and bleak conditions during the war.  I felt the pain and suffering of the Biafrans.  Chimamanda presents a history lesson wrapped in a complex and beautiful story.  From reading the book, I learned that the title of Half of a Yellow Sun refers to the Biafran flag that bore the image of the rising sun in the center.

I really love this book.  Because of the upcoming film adaptation it has been on my radar for a while.  I am so glad that I finally took the time to read it. I wholeheartedly recommend that others read it too.  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  is a rising literary star and I look forward to reading her other novels. You can learn more about the novel at it’s official Half of the Yellow Sun website.  You should also check out  Chimamanda on her website and facebook page.

Video: Hot Off The Press!!! Lola Jaye's By The Time You Read This

Oh how I love YouTube! I just came across a video of Lola Jaye watching her first novel By The Time You Read This come off the printing press. The video was shot in 2008 but the sentiments expressed are timeless and I'm sure something that every aspiring or new writer experiences. I have not read By The Time You Read This yet, but it is at the top of my "to read" list. Enjoy!

Thoughts on Being Lara by Lola Jaye

Being Lara by Lola Jaye tells the story of Lara Reid, a 30 year old woman who was adopted from Nigeria at age 3 by a British couple and raised in the UK.  At her birthday party, Lara comes face to face with the mother who gave her away 27 years prior.  Throughout the course of the novel we journey with Lara as she comes to grips with her past, tries to reconcile it with her present, and builds a solid foundation for her future.

What I love most about the book is that writer Lola Jaye's characterization of Lara is one that I found to be true to life.  Lara is a perfectly flawed, yet likeable character. As a reader, you root for her to find out what it means to be Lara and find a medium between Lara and Omolara (her birth name).  I was excited when she began to embrace her Nigerian roots but I completely understood her loyalty to the parents that raised her.

I also enjoyed the mother/daughter dynamics that were explored in the novel.  The relationship between Lara's mother Pat and her mother as well as the relationship between Lara's birth mother Yomi and her mother provide a rich and layered exploration of two very different mother /daughter relationships. The book shifts between Lara, Pat, and Yomi's stories so you get a well rounded view of the the story as well as the various perspectives of the interracial adoption storyline.

Lola also successfully paints a picture of both 1970/80s Nigeria and Great Britain.  As a southern girl who has not been to either place, I could easily visualize the setting. I also learned a lot about Nigerian culture and food.

Being Lara is a prime example of slow and steady wins the race.  Although it is an easy read, I stretched out my reading of the book over the course of a couple of weeks. I enjoyed the book and genuinely cared about the characters and what happened to them, but I would not call this a "page turner." But it is still a great read. The pace of the book is ideal for someone who doesn't have a lot of time to read each day.  You can pace yourself as you join Lara on her journey.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend that others read it.  Lola Jaye is one of the first contemporary black female British writers that I've had the opportunity to read.  I look forward to reading her other works and following her writing career.You can learn more about Lola on her website , blog , Facebook and/or Twitter page.