A visualization of Amy Sherald's paintings  ..read more

Here's a roundup of novels published since 2014. As always, it's a partial list. [Related: The Beginnings of a Black Novel Timeline, 2014 - 2024 (coming soon)] 2024  • The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin • James by Percival Everett • A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams • Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris • Faebound by Saara El-Arifi • Ours by Phillip B. Williams • The Queen of Sugar Hill--A Novel of Hattie McDaniel by ReShonda Tate 2023  • Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead • Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward • Every Man a King—A King Oliver Novel b ..read more

I was recently re-reading the section in Farah Jasmine Griffin's Read Until You Understand (2021) where she's talking about her early encounters with Toni Morrison's work. Griffin was 13 when she first read Sula (1973). Can you imagine that -- reading Sula at 13?  This past Thursday, I did something I've done each fall for nearly 25 years in a row: I introduced students to Amiri Baraka performing his poem "Dope."  When the poem ended, I posed a question to the class of 60 first-year collegiate Black men. "What if you had encountered Baraka in high school or even middle scho ..read more

Here's our first video essay, allowing us to experiment with Remarkable Receptions in another format.     Related:  • A checklist of videos & whiteboard animations ..read more

A short take on comic book company Milestone Media  Written by Stephyn Phillips  Read by Avery Brooks ------------  Related: • Episodes of Remarkable Receptions ..read more

Futures of Black Digital Humanities Conference November 18-19, 2024 African American Museum, Washington, DC The Futures of Black Digital Humanities Conference celebrates the launch of the Black Literature Network, a Mellon-funded initiative aimed at advancing African American literary studies through digital tools and data-driven research. This two-day event features keynote speakers and presentations that explore the possibilities of Black Digital Humanities through projects from the Black Literature Network. The Black Literature Network includes four key components: a podcast series, a ..read more

A short take on the Toni Morrison Society's June 2024, symposium in Fort-de-France, Martinique. Episode written by Howard Rambsy II  Read by Kassandra Timm Related: • Episodes of Remarkable Receptions • The Bench by the Road Project ..read more

Baraka and Lee, November 1992 (source) In the opening of the preface of Spike Lee and Ralph Wiley's book By Any Means Necessary: Trials And Tribulations of the Making of Malcolm X (1992), Lee points out that "resistance" to his work on the movie came from everywhere: "From Warner Brothers, the Completion Bond Co., the Teamsters, High Minister of Black Culture and Ethics Amiri Baraka and his gang, the media. Everyone got in some swings." It stood out to me that Baraka is the only one that gets called out by name. Lee and Baraka traded barbs through the press in the lead up to the re ..read more

On Tuesday, I had a lively, whew, really lively, conversation about Malcolm X with the guys in my class. We had planned to just cover an excerpt of one speech, where Malcolm is discussing house Negroes vs. field Negroes. But guys had a lot to say so, we ended up covering quite bit.  I recently finished an article on Malcolm recently, so I'll share some of the Malcolm books I drew on with the guys in an upcoming class.   Here are some of the books I covered this summer and will share: 1965. Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.  1965. Malcolm ..read more

A short take on a widely cited scholarly book on 1960s and 1970s African American artistic production, James Smethurst's The Black Arts Movement (2004). Episode written by Howard Rambsy II Read by Kassandra Timm ------------  Related: • Episodes of Remarkable Receptions ..read more