Literature by and for African-American Women
Each day on my way to work, I find myself at some point looking up from the latest literary novel of the day, and somewhere in the subway car I see a black woman reading.
First, I look at the hair. Sometimes intense, tiny braids. Sometimes sheer, brass plaits. Sometimes careless and proud funky dreads.
Next, I look to see what they’re reading.
I don’t know if there’s a connection, but I think you’ll find the same craftsmanship, attention to detail and evidence of labor-of-love in the following novels.
suggested reading list
- Paradise, by Toni Morrison. Paradise is a small town in Oklahoma that through the novel represent self-reliance and community: America.
- 1993 Nobel Lecture by Toni Morrison
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
- The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
- The Women of Brewster Place, by Gloria Naylor
- A Small Place, by Jamaica Kincaid
resources
- Web Resources on African American Literature
- National Archive for Black Women’s History
- Library of Southern Literature
- American Slave Narratives
