February/March picks. The selections are inspired by Black History Month & Women’s History Month running consecutively. Read, watch, listen, engage, share.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
In Search Of Our Mother’s Garden by Alice Walker
“‘Eyes are sympathetic,’ he says. ‘If one is blind, the other will likely become blind too.’”
Alice Walker’s landmark collection of essays document her thoughts about womanhood, womanism, social issues, and black feminist literature. She insists that black women- our mothers- have been artists for a long time were just now being afforded the opportunity to pursue it. It is well worth the read.
ADDITIONAL READING:
Rebecca Walker (Daughter of Alice Walker) NPR Interview [ARTICLE]
TITULAR PROSE PDF [ESSAY]
READING LINKS:
BUY FROM YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE IF YOU CAN, IT’S MUCH COOLER!
GO TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY, GET A CARD, AND GET TO READING FOR FREE IF NECESSARY!
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Sula by Toni Morrison
“It was a fine cry- loud and long- but it had no bottom and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow”
Sula is the story on two black girls, Sula and Nel, and their growth: to and away from each other. Sula is a woman who savors the downward flight and is willing to suffer total annihilation to protect her absolute freedom. The book is very popular for a reason but it has changed my life and others.
ADDITIONAL READING:
“Towards A Black Feminist Criticism” by Barbara Smith [ESSAY]
READING LINKS:
BUY FROM YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE IF YOU CAN, IT’S MUCH COOLER!
GO TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY, GET A CARD, AND GET TO READING FOR FREE IF NECESSARY!
FILM OF THE MONTH
Eve’s Bayou (1997) directed by Kasi Lemmons
“Life is full of a million goodbyes. Eve… and it hurts every time.”
A young girl named Eve Batiste finds out her hero and father isn’t exactly who she thinks he is and the revelations that follow threaten to tear their family apart at the seams.
ADDITIONAL READING/VIEWING:
IS THIS SACRED GROUND [INTERVIEW]
WATCH:
PEACOCK
AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
Currently streaming on The Criterion Channel. Check your local library!
FILM OF THE MONTH
The Watermelon Woman (1996) directed by Cheryl Dunye
“I'm just an old fashioned girl trying to keep up with the times.”
A young black lesbian filmmaker probes the life of The Watermelon Woman, a black actress from the 1930s. It is metatextual, funny, and informative.
ADDITIONAL READING/VIEWING:
MAKING HISTORY [ARTICLE]
WATCH:
KANOPY
Currently streaming on The Criterion Channel. Check your local library!
ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Lianne La Havas (2020) by Lianne La Havas
“I cry and pray, I cry and pray”
Self-Titled Album, no-skipper.
LISTEN:
The album is available on all direct streaming platforms!
ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Killing Me Softly (1973) by Roberta Flack
“I prayed that he would finish”
RIP Roberta Flack
LISTEN:
The album is available on all direct streaming platforms!
PREVIOUS MONTLY PICKS
The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara
Chameleon Street (1989)
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by Outkast
Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
Mo Better Blues (1990)
Narrow Stairs by Death Cab For Cutie
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1989)
Tarika Blue by Tarika Blue
Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami
Almost Famous (2000)
Love Deluxe by Sade
Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Incendies (2010)
Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta by Syreeta