Reading Recommendations for Black History Month

Happy Black History Month from the Literatures and Languages Library!

From Phillis Wheatley to Zora Neale Hurston to Colson Whitehead, Black writers have enriched our country’s literary heritage for centuries. While the Literatures and Languages Library amplifies Black voices all year, Black History Month provides a special opportunity to highlight a few of the many wonderful works in our collection created by Black authors.

The origin of Black History Month dates to 1926 when historian Carter G. Woodson conceived of Negro History Week. Specifically responding to how the American public school system represented the significance of Black history, Woodson envisioned Negro History Week as a national celebration of Black culture (Franklin). Woodson originally chose the second week in February as an apt time to champion Black history because it coincided with the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Following the civil rights movement, the week-long event transformed into the full month celebration that we now recognize.

Our collection is always growing, and this curated list provides just a glimpse of some of the exciting new fiction and poetry we offer. These works are eclectic and explore a diverse spectrum of the Black experience, ranging from the Afro-punk scene of the 1970s to queer life amidst the AIDS epidemic.

The titles featured here are currently on display in our exhibit case but will be available for check-out on March 1st. To see the full exhibit, or to get more reading recommendations for Black History Month, come visit us in the Main Library, Room 200!

Fiction:

The Awkward Black Man (Stories) by Walter Mosley

Walter Mosley is often considered one of America’s greatest crime-fiction writers, winning an Edgar Grand Master Award as well as a Medal for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. But this collection of 17 short stories displays the broad range of Mosley’s talent. The Awkward Black Man providing fascinating glimpses into a motley collection of protagonists–heroes who are awkward, nerdy, self-defeating, self-involved, and, on the whole, odd. The collection seeks to challenge stereotypes about Black male characters and urges the reader to consider each one on his own merits.

Funeral Diva by Pamela Sneed

Seamlessly weaving together personal essays and poetry, poet, performer, visual artist, and educator Pamela Sneed brings all her talents to bear on this memoir, which depicts the AIDS crisis’ impact on Black queer life in New York City. The winner of the Lambda Award for Lesbian Poetry, Funeral Diva’s poems are in conversation with lost lovers and Black literary forebears from James Baldwin to Audre Lorde, and extend from meditations on the past into the trauma and hope of the present day.

 

Hell of a Book: Or the Altogether Factual, Wholly Bona Fide Story of a Big Dreams, Hard Luck, American-Made Mad Kid by Jason Mott

It’s a hell of a title for a hell of a book. This National Book Award-winning novel bends time and reality to tell the dizzying story of a best-selling Black author’s cross-country publicity tour. His journey intersects and intermingles with the stories of a young black boy named Soot and a possibly mythic child named, simply, The Kid. As their lives converge amidst a series of tragic, magical, and astonishing twists that will have the reader questioning what is real and how can we move forward?

Other Fiction Recommendations:

 

Poetry:

Such Color by Tracy K. Smith

This collection brings together some of the most powerful and esteemed poems from the former Poet Laureate of the United States, Tracy K. Smith. Such Color includes works originally published in volumes including the Pulitzer prize-winning Life On Mars (2011), as well as The Body’s Question (2003), Duende (2007), and Wade in the Water (2018). The collection also includes new poems, which reflect on America’s historical and contemporary racism, while urging the reader towards the radical choice of love and compassion in the face of all that stands in its way.

Exiles of Eden – Ladan Osman

Drawing from Somali storytelling traditions, Exiles of Eden provides a fascinating new perspective on the story of Adam, Eve, and their exile from the Garden of Eden. Seamlessly blending the past and present in hypnotizing, experimental verse, Osman explores the experiences of displaced people across multiple generations. Her characters by turns grapple with trauma, isolation, and the disheartening realization that once you are exiled from Eden, you can never go back.

 

Other Poetry Recommendations:

 

Works Cited

 

Franklin, Jonathan. “Here’s the story behind Black History Month—and why it’s celebrated in February.” NPR, https://www.npr.org/2022/02/01/1075623826/why-is-february-black-history-month. Accessed 4 February 2022.

 

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2021 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Congratulations to the 2021 Pulitzer Prize Winners! The Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917  through the will of Joseph Pulitzer, a visionary American journalist, who wished to incentivize excellence and innovation in American journalism and letters. 

This year, the literary works recognized demonstrate an increased interest in social justice and honoring the exemplary work of writers addressing the brutal history and complex reality of race in America. Below, we have highlighted a few of the winners currently in our collection. But we encourage you to peruse the full list of finalists and winners here

 

Fiction: The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

The Night Watchman is based on the extraordinary life of National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich’s  grandfather, who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C. This powerful novel explores themes of love and death with lightness and gravity and unfolds with the elegant prose, sly humor, and depth of feeling of a master craftsman.

History: Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America by Marcia Chatelain

A nuanced account of the complicated role the fast-food industry plays in African-American communities, Chatelain’s work is a portrait of race and capitalism that masterfully illustrates how the fight for civil rights has been intertwined with the fate of Black businesses. From civil rights to Ferguson, Franchise reveals the untold history of how fast food became one of the greatest generators of black wealth in America.

Biography: The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne and Tamara Payne

Les Payne, the renowned Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist, embarked in 1990 on a nearly thirty-year-long quest to interview anyone he could find who had actually known Malcolm X. The Dead are Arising is the result—A powerful and revelatory account of the civil rights activist, which rewrites much of the known narrative and offers insight into his character, beliefs and the forces that shaped him. Les and Tamara Payne have crafted a riveting work that affirms the centrality of Malcolm X to the African American freedom struggle.

Poetry: Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz

Postcolonial Love Poem is a collection of tender, heart-wrenching, and defiant poems that explore what it means to love and be loved in an America beset by conflict. It is an anthem of desire against erasure, demanding that every body carried in its pages—bodies of language, land, rivers, suffering brothers, enemies, and lovers—be touched and held as beloved.

 

General Nonfiction: Wilmington’s Lie : The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino

Wilmington’s Lie is a gripping account of the overthrow of the elected government of a Black-majority North Carolina city after Reconstruction that untangles a complicated set of power dynamics cutting across race, class and gender. It gives an account of a racially-motivated insurrection launched by white supremacists, which halted gains made by Black people and restored racism as official government policy, cementing white rule for another seventy years. 

Pulitzer Prize winner David Zucchino uses contemporary newspaper accounts, diaries, letters and official communications to create a riveting and compelling narrative that weaves together individual stories of hate, fear, and brutality. This is a dramatic and definitive account of a remarkable but forgotten chapter of American history.

–Summaries adapted from the publisher

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Black History Month: Cinema Studies Edition!

The Literatures and Languages Library houses a rich collection of books on black cinema. We present here a selection that confronts the racism and inequalities persistent in the Hollywood film industry

A Piece of the Action: Race and Labor in Post-Civil Rights Hollywood

by Eithne Quinn

This book details the struggles and transitions in Hollywood after the Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s. It describes the push for changes in the hiring processes, the calls for diversification of films and film crews, and the industry’s “ghettoization” of black made films. The book also discusses the ways that movies made in this period impacted American societal response to the post-Civil rights era. Quinn also discusses the film industry’s response to liberal pushes for equality in films and film making, which mostly culminated in institutional promises that made no real changes in the way things were done.

The Encyclopedia of Racism in American Films

by Salvador Murguia

“Whether subtle or blatant, racially biased images and narratives erase minorities, perpetuate stereotypes, and keep alive practices of discrimination and marginalization.”

This book traces the history of racism in the film industry and confronts instances of racism in specific films. From Birth of a Nation to Get Out, this encyclopedia investigates the use of racist tropes, narratives, stereotypes, and imagery deployed to depict Black and brown people. It discusses the lack of diversity in Hollywood, White Savior films, and the general disconnect between lived experiences and Hollywood depictions of traditionally underrepresented groups. To do this Murguia pulls from the work of film critics, industry people, scholars and activists, adding a “pop culture companion,” to the field of critical race studies.

The Hollywood Jim Crow: The Racial Politics of the Movie Industry                     

by Maryann Erigha

“As gatekeepers, Hollywood decision-makers actively create and maintain racial hierarchy in how they discuss, conceptualize, package, produce, and distribute movies and in how they stratify movies, actors and directors.”

This book focuses on the racial hierarchy in Hollywood, making use of well-known incidents like the #OscarsSoWhiteCampaign, and the leaked Sony emails. Erigha describes the pervasive and continued racial inequalities that are perpetrated by top industry execs and other white industry professionals. Erigha argues that creating and maintaining these racial divisions is an ongoing process, supported by the culture, practices, and discourses in the film industry. Exploring these tendencies and shedding light on the way these practices are harmful for people of color, and make diversifying the industry difficult, this book takes a look at the way Hollywood practices mimics Jim Crow systems.

Framing Blackness: The African American Image in Film

by Ed Guerrero

While this book is a few years older than the other recommendations, it is still a great addition to any Cinema Studies library. Author Ed Guerrero confronts the tropes, stereotypes, and imagery used in cinema to marginalize Black people, and center whiteness. It looks at the various and persistent framing of blackness as other, across movie genres and throughout film history. Guerrero describes the resistance and responses to this framing in Black Cinema, discusses the impacts of Blaxploitation, the growing expectations of Black audiences, and analyzes Black film stars, directors, and movies of the 1980s and 90s.

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Comics in the Time of Corona: Angoulême Prize Winners

Each year, the town of Angoulême in southwestern France plays host to the Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême (FIBD), which is frequently known as the Angoulême International Comics Festival. Started in 1974, the four-day event is devoted to the ninth art (as comics are often called in France) and celebrates achievements in the medium.

The Angoulême International Comics Festival also administers several prestigious prizes, referred to as Fauves (“Wild Cats”) in reference to FIBD’s mascot. The Angoulême Fauves honor the versatility and transgressive power of the art form. Prizes include the coveted Fauve d’Or (“Golden Wildcat”) for best comics album of the year, as well as prizes for best artwork, best script, and best new work in a series.

The festival is internationally renowned and typically attracts around 200,000 artists, journalists, and comics enthusiasts to Angoulême every January. Attendees typically take part in workshops, master classes, and panels dispersed throughout the city. However, as with many other highly-anticipated events, this year was far from typical. To accommodate the travel restrictions and social distancing requirements brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, FIBD was split into two parts. The announcement of the 2021 prize winners took place at its usual time in late January, while the in-person events are delayed until late June.

To celebrate the first part of the Angoulême International Comics Festival, the Literatures and Languages Library is highlighting Fauve winners coming soon to our collection. These French-language works, full of innovative story-telling and stunning visuals, will have you dreaming of Angoulême in June.

Click here to learn more about the prizes and prize-winners.

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PRIX DU PUBLIC FRANCE TÉLÉVISIONS: Anaïs Nin, sur la mer des mensonges by Léonie Bischoff

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PRIX DE LA SÉRIE: Paul à la maison by Michel Rabagliati

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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PRIX RÉVÉLATION: Tanz! by Maurane Mazars

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PRIX GOSCINNY DU SCÉNARIO: Black-out by Loo Hui Phang and Hugues Micol

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cover art for La Mécanique du Sage

PRIX DE L’AUDACE: La Mécanique du Sage by Gabrielle Piquet

 

 

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New Resource Spotlight: Project Muse Literature Ebook Collection

Exciting news! The UIUC library recently acquired Project Muse’s 2020 and 2021 Literature eBook collection. The collections are international in scope, represent the highest quality scholarship published by academic presses throughout the United States, and include literary criticism and literary theory, biographies of authors, and fiction/poetry from before 1950.

In total, this acquisition includes approximately 700 titles, providing patrons with convenient access to new and relevant scholarship. Access Project Muse through UIUC here.

These ebooks are now available to browse and read.  You can find a full list of the titles in each collection here.

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Congratulations to Nobel Prize Recipient Louise Glück!

On October 8th, American poet Louise Glück was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature. Congratulations!

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Louise Glück, recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature

Glück was awarded the prize “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” In addition to the Nobel, she has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, and was the 2003-2004 poet laureate of the United States.

The Nobel Prize in Literature was first awarded in 1901 and is given out annually. The Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes created by Alfred Nobel; recipients are selected by the Swedish Academy based upon their body of work.

Interested in reading Louise Glück’s poetry? Many of her titles are available to check out at the library:

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The Wild Iris, by Louise Glück. Click for catalog link.

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Faithful and Virtuous Night, by Louise Glück. Click for catalog link.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The House on Marshland, by Louise Glück. Click for catalog link.

If you’d like to read other works by Louise Glück, you can find them here.

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The 2020 Premio Campiello Prize!

Every year, Italy awards the Premio Campiello to an outstanding Italian-language work.

This year, the award went to Remo Rapino, for his book Vita, Morte, e Miracoli di Buonfiglio Liborio!

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Remo Rapino, winner of the 2020 Premio Campiello.

The Premio Campiello began in 1962, with the first award being given in 1963 to Primo Levi. It was created as a way to celebrate Italian literature and has been expanded in recent years, namely with the Opera Prima and Il Campiello Giovane. These are awarded for the best debut work and best work by a young author (15-22 years old), respectively.

To narrow down which literary works will be considered for the award, a panel of experts will gather the titles of books published during the year and from there, choose five finalists. The finalists for the 2020 Premio Campiello included:

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Con Passi Giapponesi, by Patrizia Cavalli. Click image for catalog link.

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Tralummescuro. Ballata per un Paese al Tramonto, by Francesco Guccini

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sommersione, by Sandro Frizziero

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L’incanto del Pesce Luna, by Ade Zeno

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Vita, Morte e Miracoli di Bonfiglio Liborio, by Remo Rapino

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the finalists are selected, a jury of 300 individuals from all across Italy vote to determine which finalist will be given the award. This year, it went to Remo Rapino for Vita, Morte e Miracoli di Bonfiglio Libero. Additionally, Veronica Galletta’s novel, Le Isole di Norman was awarded the Premio Campiello–Opera Prima, for best debut work.

Previous winners of the Premio Campiello include Andrea Tarabbia’s novel, Madrigale Senza Suono, Rosella Postorino’s Le assaggiatrici, and Donatella Di Pietrantonio’s L’Arminuta. 

For more information on the Premio Campiello, click here (note: website is in Italian).

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Congratulations to the 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners for Fiction & Poetry!

After being delayed due to Covid-19, the winners of the Pulitzer Prize were announced via livestream on May 5th, 2020. The winner for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction was Colson Whitehead, for his work The Nickel Boys, and the winner for Poetry was Jericho Brown, for his poetry collection The Tradition.

In addition to the 2020 Pulitzer Prize, Whitehead was awarded the Prize once before in 2017 for his novel, The Underground Railroad. Many of Whitehead’s works can be found in the library, plenty of which are available as ebooks and audiobooks. For more information about Colson Whitehead and his works, you can visit his website and twitter page.

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Book. The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead. Click for catalog link.

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E-Audiobook. The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead. Click for catalog link.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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E-Audiobook. The Intuitionist, by Colson Whitehead. Click for catalog link.

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E-Audiobook. John Henry Days, by Colson Whitehead. Click for catalog link.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jericho Brown is an American poet and professor at Emory University. In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize, he has also been awarded the American Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award. For more information on Brown, you can visit his website and twitter page.

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Book. The Tradition, by Jericho Brown. Click for catalog link.

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Book. Please, by Jericho Brown. Click for catalog link.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Book. The New Testaments, by Jericho Brown. Click for catalog link.

 

 

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Man Booker Prize shortlist includes American authors

On September 9th, the Man Booker Prize judge panel announced the 2014 shortlist for the literary prize. For the first time in the prize’s 46-year history, contestants include American authors. The judges released a statement on their decision to extend the prize to all English-language publications:

“This is the first list to reflect the diversity of the novel in English regardless of the author’s nationality, as the Man Booker Prize has opened up to any author writing originally in English and published in the UK. Previously, the prize was open to authors from the UK & Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe.” (The Man Booker Prize shortlist)

This year’s shortlist includes two American novelists, Joshua Ferris and Karen Joy Fowler, as well as an Australian author, Richard Flanagan. The prize shortlist is:

  • To Rise Again At a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris
  • The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
  • We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
  • J by Howard Jacobson
  • The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee
  • How to Be Both by Ali Smith

The winner, revealed on October 14, will receive £50,000 and worldwide exposure for their work. For more information on the Man Booker Prize and the contestants, see The Guardian’s shortlist coverage.

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