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African American Literature Book Club - The #1 Site for "Readers of Black Literature" |
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For more than 35 years, Third World Press has brought the reading public books that encourage creativity, inspire intellect, engender pride and spur engaged and informed critical debate over issues of race, culture, politics, and social health. Their promise and claim has been that they are not to let the few precious, motionless moments pass them without reading for their knowledge, interest, or entertainment.
The tittles that TWP publish are indeed indicative of their pledge and steadfast
goal to remain committed to giving insightful, progressive works by and about
people of the African Diaspora a platform. The titles below are just a
small sample of the work they have published over the years.
Third World Press
Phone: 773-651-0700 - Fax: 773-651-7286
ISBN: 0883782634 Gloria Naylor, one of the most celebrated and successful black writers in recent history, has authored this fictionalized memoir of how an invasion of privacy can be taken to the extreme. After having published critically-acclaimed novels like The Women of Brewster Place and Mama Day, Naylor returns with 1996 . In this startling account, we find Naylor buying a house on St. Helena Island, off the coast of South Carolina. Here she seeks to enjoy life, relax, write in peace, and tend to her garden. However, Naylor's tranquility is ruined by a woman who feels threatened by her presence. This woman's fears spur a massive covert surveillance operation against Naylor in 1996. For the author, this seems to be just another example of how racism usually translates into gross misunderstanding. This gut-wrenching will certainly be a talker.
Tavis Smiley (Editor) ISBN: 0883782774 Established publishing house, Third World Press, Inc., joins noted author and broadcaster, Tavis Smiley, to create The Covenant with Black America, a step-by-step how-to manual for taking action against the political, economical, physiological and medical issues threatening black society. The Covenant addressing 10 of the most pressing issues facing black America, providing provocative breakdowns of each issue, as well as specific directions on how politicians, corporations and individuals can make important changes necessary for the survival of black people.
Haki R. Madhubuti minces no words in Run Toward Fear, a powerful new collection of poetry. Run Toward Fear offers readers a mixture of poems that challenge and cause both reflection and question on many of the headline issues that have launched this century. Madhubuti includes poignant moving tributes to Jacob Carruthers, Gwendolyn Brooks and Amiri Baraka, as well as, heartfelt words that provide comfort and guidance to the families of the twenty-one who lost their lives in Chicago’s E-2 night club tragedy. Madhubuti, motivated by constant requests from younger poets and teachers of poetry to share his insights on writing and the art of producing poetry, offers an added extra in Run Toward Fear. The final section of the book, “A Poet’s Handbook, provides personal and sometimes anecdotal insights on the craft of writing poetry. The “Handbook” serves as a practical answer to the book’s final poem “For the Consideration of Poets.”
“Again and again, Haki R. Madhubuti gives us necessary words that shine
bright light in challenging times”
by Aneb Kgositsile House
This collection of poetry explores the beauty that exist in
“With the same intimate voice that she offers warning on Writing Your Soul,
in Shrines, Aneb offers safe passage of places of pilgrimage and sacred
remembrance” Aneb Kgositsile House (Gloria House, Ph.D) is professor emerita of Interdisciplinary Studies Program of Wayne State University in Detroit and an activist in the African-American and Third World liberation movements.
by Quraysh A. Lansana
“Many of the poems in this volume are small miracles and do the main job of
art: They turn something you think you already know into a mystery and deepen
your understanding of what you thought you knew. Harriet Tubman is one of the
heroines of African American History and many of us are familiar with the
outlines of her story as told in numerous historical and biographical tracts.
Lansana tells us about Tubman, the woman, who though a warrior, was also a
person with human needs and inner conflicts. Lansana wisely adds flesh and bones
to the myth of Harriet Tubman.”
by Regina Jennings
“Regina Jennings' poetry gathers our spirits in one place and shouts
hallelujah for all victories over guile, brutality, loneliness,
misunderstandings, and oppression. She is a major poet whose voice will be heard
again and again when it seems that we have lost our way. Precise, clean, sharp,
mellow with sound, and blossoming with meaning, the poems in this book will
become our classics”. Dr. Regina Jennings teaches African-American Literature at Rutgers University. She is author of Midnight Morning Musings: Poems of an American African(1998). Her scholarly monographs are The Malcolm X Muse in the Poetic Vision of Haki Madhubuti: Issues of Memory and Maleness under review and The Poetry of the Black Panther Party inprogress. She is published in numerous journals and books including Pennsylvania English, The Journal of Black Studies, The Western Journal of Black Studies, Language and Literature and the African-American Imagination, A Psychological and Multi-cultural View of History, The Black Urban Community, Maud Martha: A Critical Collection.
by Cranston Knight
LaBrigada: Spain (1933-1939) is about the people of color of La Brigada,” the international brigade that fought in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. It is also about Spain’s impact on these individuals who supported, opposed, and observed the war. It is about those who struggled in a time vortex to save millions in a forgotten war, a forgotten country. The poems are the voices of the African-Americans, the words of the Hispanics, the songs of the Spanish, and the cries of the dying children. Cranston Knight is a Professor of History and teaches at the Malcolm X College. His work has appeared in both scholarly and literary journals. Professor Knight’s books include, On the Borders of Hiroshima: I heard a Rumor of War, In the Garden of the Beast: Vietnam Cries a Love Song, Freedom Song and Tour of Duty: Vietnam in the Words of Those Who Were There. He also lectures at various colleges and universities throughout the country. As an Afro-Latino poet, his voice is rich in the Latino-Africano culture and tradition.
by Abe Thompson
"This book is inspired by Mr. Thompson’s dream to leave a message to his son and others starting out on the road to a better life. This book is a collage of information derived from many years of experience as an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, friend, husband, and most importantly, father.
Abe Thompson has created the ultimate interactive book. He forces readers to
think, while giving them the rare opportunity to jot these thoughts down in the
book itself. Half journal, half pearls of wisdom, Thompson has given us a rare
gem that should be cherished by readers of all ages." Abe Thompson has been a radio broadcaster for over 20 years. He has worked in various management positions in Chicago and Detroit. Mr. Thompson is President and CEO of Partnership Radio, Inc., which owns radio stations in small markets. In addition to his career in broadcasting, he is a motivational speaker and educator.
by Opal Moore Lot's Daughters uses the black migration from the American south to the north as a motif to suggest a deeper journey of body and spirit. Many people look at our current challenges and problems and can think of nothing but how to go back to "the way we were."
"The amazing poems in Lot's Daughters will make you remember why you loved
poetry in the first place. Opal Moore's poems are passionate slices of
African-American womanhood. Longing for love without compromise and bursting
with the glorious complexity of our contradictions, these beautifully crafted
poems are capable of breaking your heart with their clear-eyed acceptance of the
pain of living and their unshakeable belief in the possibility of Paradise." Opal Moore, Associate Professor of English teaching fiction and poetry writing and African American literature, serves as Chair of the Department of English at Spelman College in Atlanta GA. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in various literary journals and anthologies, including Callaloo Magazine, Connecticut Review, Honey, Hush! An Anthology of African American Women’s Humor, and Homeplaces: Stories of the South by Women Writers. Her collection of poems, Lot’s Daughers, has been accepted for publication by Third World Press in Chicago. Currently she is creating a suite of poems, “The Children of Middle Passage,” for The Delfina Project, a collaborative performance art work inspired by the images of contemporary artist, Arturo Lindsay.
ISBN: 0883780615 Maud Martha was the first novel by world_class poet Gwendolyn Brooks.
It is the story of a woman with doubts about herself and her place in an
indifferent world. It is also a story of triumph, the triumph of the lowly.
Through Brooks's straightforward and honest portrayal of the novel's heroine,
the reader is forced to come face_to_face with Maud Martha and recognize that
her essence resides deep within every one of us. Within this honest and intimate
story of one woman's struggles and failures, Brooks's incandescent poetic
language shines through.
Format: Hardcover, 150pp. From the Preface A Call to Men...
Editors Tony Medina, Samiya A. Bashir and Quraysh Ali Lansana Format: Paperback, 500pp. What is the role of today's emerging young artists in the current struggle for equality and justice? How do the voices of the neXt generation define the issues and politics of today? Role Call is just that. It's a role call of a new generation of Black writers and artists. It is an exploration of our current cultural landscape in poetry, fiction, essays, visual arts and theater-on-the-page. This groundbreaking anthology is the litmus test--and a call to arms--of a generation grown fat on the limited freedoms won by the civil rights struggle. Role Call takes on issues of race, sexuality, education, nationalism, spirituality, AIDS, globalization, hip hop and the rise of the prison industrial complex. Role Call is a journey through the tropics of black rage, black love and black fire. About the Editors: Tony Medina, professor, poet, activist, is the author of
the poetry collections Emerge & See, No Noose Is Good Noose, and
Sermons From the Smell of a Carcass Condemned to Begging; a children's
book, DeShawn Days; and is co-editor of In Defense of Mumia.
Samiya A. Bashir, is a poet, writer and books editor for numerous publications
and websites including Black Issues Book Review, Curve and Ms. magazines.
Quraysh Ali Lansana is the author of three poetry collections, including
southside rain and cockroach children: corner poems and street psalms;
a children's book, The Big World; and editor of three anthologies,
including Glencoe/McGraw-Hill's: African American Literature Reader.
ISBN: 0883780305 The Destruction of Black Civilization took Chancellor Williams sixteen
years of research and field study to compile. The book, which was to serve as a
reinterpretation of the history of the African race, was intended to be "a
general rebellion against the subtle message from even the most 'liberal' white
authors (and their Negro disciples): 'You belong to a race of nobodies. You have
no worthwhile history to point to with pride.'" The book was written at a time
when many black students, educators, and scholars were starting to piece
together the connection between the way their history was taught and the way
they were perceived by others and by themselves. They began to question
assumptions made about their history and took it upon themselves to create a new
body of historical research. The book is premised on the question: "If the
Blacks were among the very first builders of civilization and their land the
birthplace of civilization, what has happened to them that has left them since
then, at the bottom of world society, precisely what happened? The Caucasian
answer is simple and well-known: The Blacks have always been at the bottom."
Williams instead contends that many elements—nature, imperialism, and stolen
legacies— have aided in the destruction of the black civilization.
ISBN: 0883781336 One glance at So Far, So Good and it becomes evident that this is not merely
a collection of a song writer's lyrics. The song-poems of this undisputed "Bluesologist"
triumphantly stand on their own, evoking the rhythm and urgency which have
distinguished Gil Scott-Heron's 20 year career. This collection carries the
reader from the global topics of political hypocrisy and the dangers posed by
Capitalist culture to painfully personal themes and the realities of African
American life. Always, Scott-Heron supports his mission of unveiling America's
hypocrisy and inaction with hope for an African American future of self
liberation.
ISBN: 0883781727 Haki Madhubuti is one of the foremost Black poets and has
been in the vanguard of Black letters for more than 25 years. He has perfected
the ability to combine politics and poetry in a powerful and unique style that
is both accessible and profound. GroundWork: Selected Poems from 1966-1996 is a
landmark collection of Madhubuti's poetic vision for and critique of
African-Americans and American society as a whole. From "But He Was Cool" and
"One Sided Shoot-out" to "White People are People Too" and "Too Many of Our
Young are Dying", GroundWork is a compendium of verse that is both thoughtful,
memorable, and represents some of the best work in a generation of American
poets of any color. -- Midwest Book Review
Magic of Juju: An Appreciation of the Black Arts Movement ISBN: 0883781964 From CHAPTER 2: When discussing social movements, establishing start and stop dates is often
an arbitrary exercise. BAM is particularly difficult to pin down to a specific
start and stop date because of the nature of its beginning in far flung,
grassroots activities which were often unrelated to each other. Nevertheless, if
we claim that BAM was an important movement then we need to be able to locate
this movement in history. In keeping with our L/N/L conceptual model, I mark the
beginning point of BAM in the national phase and the end point of BAM in the
disruption/decline of the second grassroots phase.
Related Links Haki Madhubuti Jazz Poetry Kafe: The BlackWords Compilation CD |
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Third World Press
1996
The Covenant with
Black America 
Run Toward Fear: New
Poems and a Poet’s Handbook
Shrines
They Shall Run:
Harriet Tubman Poems 
Race, Rage, and Roses
LaBrigada: Spain (1933
- 1939)
My Thoughts Your
Journal Our Books
Lot’s Daughters
Maud Martha: A Novel
Tough
Notes: A Healing Call for Creating Exceptional Black Men
So
Far, So Good
