BULLSH*T! I am not trying to downplay any of the hot authors out right now, but is it just me, or does it seem like they can't write books the way they used to? this leads me to believe that there must be a difference between literature and just something to read. I would love to see responses to this post, as to what most of you would consider literature.
first and foremost.......I would like to hold my fist up in honor of Facetious and Brown Sugar, you held me down while I was away. I honestly thought a lot of people would come in and try and say that I am dissing alot of the black authors out today......
and YOU ARE ABOSOLUTELY RIGHT!!!!!
I understand that right now, the black movement is going through a whole "write about life in the ghetto" faze, and I can respect that.....to some extent. Sistah Souljah is aiight, but when you start seeing 10 other books with the same story line practically, something is definitely not right. Then we have our "ghetto love" faze as well, heralded by Terry McMillan and taken away by Eric Jerome Dickey, who I can't stand. then its just books that is just about sex, (APF) straight out. I understand white people write about this stuff as well, but do we have to?? they also write thriller novels and suspense....there aren't enough black authors doing this as well. It seems that most of our authors today write about the same thing.....sex, drugs, and life in the worst ghetto possibly imagined. I mean why does a black book always have to take place in the hood. don't get me wrong, I love the hood and always will, but not all black people live there and I respect and give props to those that don't. then we wonder why people think the ghetto is all we know.....maybe it's because that is all we write about!!!
Authors like Claude McKay, Richard Wright, and Maya Angelou wrote about issues, and added story lines to those issues, but the main focus of the book was a social problem associated with life....not just life for black people. These books shaped your opinions on life and even changed the way you thought about a particular place or event. I mean look at the Souls of Black Folk and Things Fall Apart.....you know how many read those books? How many people learned from those books?? I mean people of all colors all around the globe. That, my friends, is what I consider literature.....something that stimulates the mind and causes you to really think about what you are reading!
and to the person who said maybe you should right your own book, be prepared, cuz that is just what I intend on doing.
_______________________________ The struggle continues.......
Howard University.....'nuff said
BULLSH*T! I am not trying to downplay any of the hot authors out right now, but is it just me, or does it seem like they can't write books the way they used to? this leads me to believe that there must be a difference between literature and just something to read. I would love to see responses to this post, as to what most of you would consider literature.
I am soooo glad someone finally said this. Bullshyt authors include Zane, Sistah Souljah (howeva you spell her name) and the other popular authors out right now. The writing is very amateur, kind of stuff any 8th grader can read. It is not challenging at all.
_______________________________ Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
--"Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou
oh my god every where i go Ekow is acting a damn fool. lol.
but anyways yeah i have picked up some hot trash in the past year. ya know the book that starts off nice and in the middle it loses everything and goes every direction and makes absolutely no sense. we do this as college students sometimes in those essays and papers we dont want to write. ya know get to the middle and just put some BULLSH!t up in their and then expect to get a good grade on it. lol. yeah i hate reading trash, makes my mind wanna boil.
_______________________________ Guns don`t kill people-husbands that get home early do.
I like some of the modern books out right now, although I thought I was the only one that didn't think The Coldest Winter Ever was extrodinary, there are some authors out right now that are writing good books, for example Pearl Cleage-what looks like crazy on an ordinary day, or The Warmest December- Bernice McFadden, it's all about what books you pick out. 8)
the words are driven by dollars, and keep in mind that things that are hot nowadays are "reality TV" and "trucker hats" you cant expect the same people that drive pop culture to support well written literature, c'mon now plus, the less people know about whats good, the more pleasure you get from keeping it all to yourself, although you can spread the word if you feel
_______________________________ If I knew how to delete this, it would be gone
http://www.blackcollegewire.org/culture/040415_tyree/
source ^^^^
Women Love Omar Tyree, Whose Novels Aren't "Fairy Tales"
By Tera Hodges
Black College Wire
Photo credit: www.omartyree.com
Omar Tyree asks "why good women love bad men."
Although Omar Tyree has written 12 novels, he is most known for "Flyy Girls." At the mention of the title during a lecture at Florida A&M University, women began to clap and cheer in adoration.
Tyree used the moment to address what he considers to be a problem with women in the black community.
"'Flyy Girls' was one of my best sellers. It was about a woman who made all the wrong choices. She's a sister in the 'hood," he said. "But in the follow-up, I allow the main character to mature and graduate from college with a master's degree, and I received negative e-mails from sisters all over saying they couldn't relate."
"Why is it that you all can relate to the hood, but not a master's degree?," Tyree asked the audience.
As a lecturer, Tyree describes his goal as "educating blacks, as well as other cultures, on the present, past and future struggles of African people in America."
In his talk before a half-filled theater at FAMU, his topics ranged from his books, such as "For the Love of Money" and "Single Mom," to the psychological state of black people in America.
"Nothing I write is a fairy tale," said Tyree, recipient of an NAACP Image Award for outstanding work of fiction. "I write real stuff because I am a real person."
Tyree acknowledged that his book "College Boy" mirrors his college experience at the University of Pittsburgh, a predominantly white school.
"I was the Laurence Fishburne character in Spike Lee's 'School Daze.' I was a revolutionary Afrocentric black man. I felt as if I was an island, with no one to relate to," he said.
He also said he believes polygamy is the solution for improving the black family.
"People such as Michael Jordan can afford to have more than one household, with more than one wife. There could be more privileged black children if wealthy, successful, black men were able to marry more than one woman," he said.
Tyree posed for pictures, signed autographs and sold books.
"After I release 'Cold Blooded' in August, I want to come back and have a session where men and women can go at it concerning why good women love bad men," he said.
Some said they would come back to hear him.
"I didn't like everything he said, but overall, he is a great writer," said Kia Folsom, a junior broadcast student from Cincinnati.
Tera Hodges, a student at Florida A&M University, writes for The Famuan. She may be contacted at terahodges@yahoo.com.
Posted April 16, 2004
the words are driven by dollars, and keep in mind that things that are hot nowadays are "reality TV" and "trucker hats" you cant expect the same people that drive pop culture to support well written literature, c'mon now
Who expects them to do that? I understand where the push for these kinds of novels comes from, I just am sure to make the distinction between the two types of writing.
_______________________________ "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds" ~Albert Einstein
I like some of the modern books out right now, although I thought I was the only one that didn't think The Coldest Winter Ever was extrodinary, there are some authors out right now that are writing good books, for example Pearl Cleage-what looks like crazy on an ordinary day, or The Warmest December- Bernice McFadden, it's all about what books you pick out. 8)
I have to agree...just because its hot doesn't mean you have to read it. And even the books that are half trash I have to appreciate because that's where some folks get started. Not everyone is ready for the brain work a Toni Morrison or someone similar requires. Personally I believe the first black book I read was "Flyy Girl". Now my book collection is diverse ranging from Booker T. Washington's "Up from Slavery" to Zane's "Sex Chronicles". And speaking of why because white people write about sex why should we...I think we should. We should have a form of erotica that caters to African Americans. Just like we should support black owned businesses we should support black authors in their endeavors. Don't get me wrong I agree there are authors of ALL races that produce hot trash but I still believe its all in what you choose to read.
Howard University.....'nuff said
plus, the less people know about whats good, the more pleasure you get from keeping it all to yourself, although you can spread the word if you feel
