A Smattering of Black Authors Who Kick Street Lit in the Ass
Someone tried to pull my librarian card today and I had to cut 'em.
I was deriding street lit for the 3,237th time in my adult life when the person I was talking to said, "You have to admit: the stuff is engaging. I bet you can't name five books as engaging as a street lit novel by a black author that aren't street lit novels."
Now, I love lists. And I love black folks. And I love books. Asking me to create a list that contains all three of those elements is like asking Katt Williams if he'd like more weed.
Once I made sure of the qualifications (American, fiction, genuinely engaging, within the last 20 years, etc.) I rattled off the following list without blinking. I could have tripled this list without taking a breath, but they asked for five, so they got five.
In no order:
Erasure - Percival Everett
A stinging testimony on this very topic: the ghettoization of black authors. Probably Everett's most famous novel to date, and certainly in his top 3 best written. I could have made a list of 5 books just by Everett, but that would have been cheating.
Dreamer - Charles Johnson
A really intriguing story about a man who is asked to body-double for Martin Luther King, Jr., while grappling with an assortment of personal demons. If you want to read about people freaking out because they saw MLK drunk, this is your book. Rich, with just the right amount of curves.
Song Yet Sung - Charles McBride
I generally dislike slavery-era books, but I love this one. An action-packed adventure story with a sprawling yet engaging cast, centered around capturing a girl who has visions of a blinged-out future. I challenge you not to see a movie while reading this. A nice mix of actual history tweaked just enough to stay in the zone.
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned - Walter Mosley
A collection of tales that feeds a larger narrative about an ex-con always on the verge of regression who learns to rebuild his life in L.A. using his wits, not his fists. This was made into a good HBO movie starring Laurence Fishburne, and they're very close in content.
Faraday's Popcorn Factory - Sandra Lee Gould
This one NOBODY read but me, but I love it. It's a love story, but with cosmic overtones. The only book this author ever wrote to my knowledge, and it's great for light fantasy readers who like a little dread mixed in with their love stories.
I was deriding street lit for the 3,237th time in my adult life when the person I was talking to said, "You have to admit: the stuff is engaging. I bet you can't name five books as engaging as a street lit novel by a black author that aren't street lit novels."
Now, I love lists. And I love black folks. And I love books. Asking me to create a list that contains all three of those elements is like asking Katt Williams if he'd like more weed.
Once I made sure of the qualifications (American, fiction, genuinely engaging, within the last 20 years, etc.) I rattled off the following list without blinking. I could have tripled this list without taking a breath, but they asked for five, so they got five.
In no order:
Erasure - Percival Everett
A stinging testimony on this very topic: the ghettoization of black authors. Probably Everett's most famous novel to date, and certainly in his top 3 best written. I could have made a list of 5 books just by Everett, but that would have been cheating.
Dreamer - Charles Johnson
A really intriguing story about a man who is asked to body-double for Martin Luther King, Jr., while grappling with an assortment of personal demons. If you want to read about people freaking out because they saw MLK drunk, this is your book. Rich, with just the right amount of curves.
Song Yet Sung - Charles McBride
I generally dislike slavery-era books, but I love this one. An action-packed adventure story with a sprawling yet engaging cast, centered around capturing a girl who has visions of a blinged-out future. I challenge you not to see a movie while reading this. A nice mix of actual history tweaked just enough to stay in the zone.
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned - Walter Mosley
A collection of tales that feeds a larger narrative about an ex-con always on the verge of regression who learns to rebuild his life in L.A. using his wits, not his fists. This was made into a good HBO movie starring Laurence Fishburne, and they're very close in content.
Faraday's Popcorn Factory - Sandra Lee Gould
This one NOBODY read but me, but I love it. It's a love story, but with cosmic overtones. The only book this author ever wrote to my knowledge, and it's great for light fantasy readers who like a little dread mixed in with their love stories.