Tag Archives: black women

Review of Lesley Nneka Arimah’s What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky

Posted on October 8, 2019 by tonipressleysanon

I first learned of Lesley Nneka Arimah’s collection of short stories, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky (2017) from Levar Burton’s brilliant podcast, Levar Burton Reads. I loved that even though the story that he read—the … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, African-American, culture, literature, review, Speculative Fiction, Writer | Tagged black and brown feminism, black feminism, black women, black women writers, Lesley Nnekah Arimah, levar burton, levar burton reads, science fiction, Speculative Fiction, what it means when a man falls from the sky, writers | Leave a comment

Toni Morrison Resting in Power 1931-2019

Posted on August 7, 2019 by tonipressleysanon

Rest in your power, Toni Morrison Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am documentary interview Morrison on what motivated her to write The Bluest Eye News of her life and transition: Nobel Prize-Winning Author Dies at 88 Toni Morrison: Nobel … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American, culture, history, lecture, literature, slavery, Writer | Tagged black women, creative writing, history, literature, novel, short stories, toni morrison, women | 1 Comment

Review of Saidiya Hartman’s Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments

Posted on July 2, 2019 by tonipressleysanon

I have long been familiar with Dr. Saidiya Hartman’s brilliance; first through Scenes of Subjection: Terror, Slavery and Self-Making in Nineteenth Century America (1997) and then through Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Coast (2008). As a post-doc, I … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American, culture, literature | Tagged Beautiful Experiments, black women, Saidiya Hartman, Wayward Lives, Wayward Lives Beautiful Experiments | Leave a comment

Happy Birthday Octavia Butler!

Posted on June 22, 2019 by tonipressleysanon

Happy birthday Octavia Butler!! The genius writer Octavia Butler would have been 72 years today! An interview with Ms. Butler on “Transcending Boundaries” An NPR interview with Ms. Butler and an essay by her. She was the recipient of several … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American, literature, Speculative Fiction | Tagged black women, creative writing, literature, Octavia Butler | Leave a comment

Review of Nafissa Thomas-Spires’ Heads of the Colored People

Posted on March 19, 2019 by tonipressleysanon

Nafissa Thompson-Spires’ short story collection Heads of the Colored People (2018) is incredibly SMART!! All of the stories are amazing—expertly crafted and honed works of literary genius. Some of them are very clearly connected by the individuals who are their subjects … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American, literature | Tagged black and brown feminism, black feminism, black women, black women feminists, black women writers, creative writing, literature, Nafissa Thomas-Spires, short stories, women | Leave a comment

Bonus! Review of Well-Read Black Girl and If Beale Street Could Talk

Posted on February 19, 2019 by tonipressleysanon

I’ve been thinking a lot about service lately; more specifically, I’ve been thinking about how people serve their communities in ways that ring true to them and are impactful. While there are things that we do that we can easily … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American, culture, film, literature, Writer | Tagged A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich, Alice Childress, Barry Jenkins, bell hooks, black feminism, black women, black women writers, cinema, film, Glory Edim, Google, I Am Not Your Negro, If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin, literature, novel, Raoul Peck, teaching, teaching to transgress, Well-Read Black Girl, women | 2 Comments

Review of The Chicken Chronicles by Alice Walker

Posted on July 6, 2016 by alligatorwoods

The Chicken Chronicles by Alice Walker, 208pp. The New Press, 2012, $13.56 paperback Alice Walker’s The Chicken Chronicles’ full title is The Chicken Chronicles: Sitting with the Angels who have returned with My Memories: Glorious, Rufus, Gertrude Stein, Splendor, Hortensia, … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American, literature, Writer | Tagged African-American, Alice Walker, black women, memoir, review | Leave a comment

Review of Chinelo Okparanta’s Happiness Like Water

Posted on May 30, 2016 by alligatorwoods

Happiness Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta, 196 pp., Mariner Books 2013, $9.96 paperback I actually finished reading Chinelo Okparanta’s Happiness Like Water several weeks ago, but sat on the review, trying to gain some distance from the work. Let me begin … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa | Tagged Africa, African Literature, black women, Chinelo Okparanta, creative writing, West Africa | Leave a comment

Review of God Help the Child: A Novel

Posted on April 26, 2016 by tonipressleysanon

God Help the Child: A Novel by Toni Morrison, 192 pp. Alfred A. Knopf 2015. $16.58 hardcover The ostensible protagonist of writer and critic Toni Morrison’s latest novel, God Help the Child, is Bride, a young woman who is described … Continue reading →

Posted in Writer | Tagged African-American, black women, creative writing, God Help the Child, toni morrison | Leave a comment

“Swing Both Ways, Do You?”: Octavia Butler’s Shori as Liminal Transgressor

Posted on April 22, 2016 by tonipressleysanon

*This little essay has seen numerous iterations over the past five years. While the final product is by no means perfect, my hope is that it honors some of the amazing and brave work that Octavia Butler undertook during her lifetime to … Continue reading →

Posted in literature, Speculative Fiction, Writer | Tagged African-American, black women, Dracula, Fledgling, Octavia Butler, vampire | Leave a comment