From Africa: New Francophone StoriesEdited by Adele King "These stories ultimately cover a much broader literary terrain than just Africa, and tap universal themes in refreshing ways. . . . This is a challenging and innovative selection, and public libraries would do well to consider it."—Booklist (starred review). This gathering of gifted writers tenders modern versions of myths; nostalgia for childhood in Africa; relations between the sexes in contemporary Africa; continuing political problems; and the life of the African diaspora in France—all related in new and familiar ways, in innovative and traditional forms. Conversations with Maryse CondéBy Françoise Pfaff Françoise … Continue reading From Africa

ltraviolet is a visually beautiful but plotless little movie revolving around a disease that causes "vampirism" and Milla Jovovich kicking butt in skimpy clothing. I suspect the latter bit was the whole reason my husband rented it. But, hey, sometimes you learn more about what makes a good story from the bad stories than you do from the great stories. Great stories put it together so seamlessly it is hard to pull it apart and see why. Bad stories practically scream their flaws. So for any budding screenwriters out there, here are five major crimes you can learn from watching Ultraviolet.

1) Keeping the audience confused about what is going on and why is not ambiguity, slow reveal, or depth. It is lazy writing. Now that I have seen the film and given it some thought, I think I can piece together the plot. But at the time I was watching it, I kept wondering things like: Who is that? How is that important? What is going on?  Yes, some ambiguity can be provoking. But not that much. Yes, a slow reveal can keep an audience pinned to their seat. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl has a wonderful slow reveal of what the situation in without ever leaving the audience confused. They do this by carefully giving the audience enough information at the right times, and taking the time to set up the situation before launching into the action. They also have several storylines (see Subplots below) started before the mystery even begins to crop up so the audience has something to hang onto. Finally, confusing an audience isn’t depth. Read classics of literature and you are never confused. Depth comes from exploration of human motivations, strivings, surrenderings, our relationships. Depth comes from having something to say, even if that something is a question. Confusion is just confusion.

2) Action does not make an audience care about the character. Lots of movies like to start with a whiz bang scene and yes, it immerses you immediately into it, but it doesn’t inform character, and character is why people bother. So start with an exciting point, but let that exciting point show something about the person. Bond movies can get away without it. We go in knowing who James Bond is and that we like him. Other movies have to concern themselves a bit more with set up. My favorite action packed beginning lately is from The Incredibles.

Continue reading “The Five Writing Crimes of Ultraviolet”

The Fourth CenturyBy Édouard GlissantTranslated by Betsy Wing "From the first pages, describing the atrocities endured aboard the slave ships, this is a fascinating, harrowing historical epic told in rich, unflinching prose."–Publishers Weekly Édouard Glissant is one of the foundational figures of Francophone literature. Along with other writers from the French West Indies, he inaugurated a radical interrogation of the French literary canon from the margins of the traditionally Paris-centered literary world. His books include Black Salt: Poems and Poetics of Relation, which was also translated by Betsy Wing. Macadam DreamsBy Gisèle PineauTranslated by C. Dickson "Savane Mulet is the … Continue reading Blacks in Translations

Buffalo Soldier Regiment: History of the Twenty-fifth United States Infantry, 1869–1926By John Nankivell; Introduction by Quintard Taylor Jr. Drawing on a wealth of official records, reports, and personal recollections, this book reconstructs the experiences of the Twenty-fifth Regiment from its formation in 1869 through its service in the border town of Nogales, Arizona, in 1926. Fugitive Slave in the Gold Rush: Life and Adventures of James WilliamsBy James Williams; Introduction by Malcolm J. Rohrbough The account of a self-taught escaped slave and underground railroad worker who also succumbed to the lure of the California Gold Rush. The Life and Adventures … Continue reading Blacks in the American West

y first book of poetry, Famous, came out last September at the same time as a friend’s second book. Her first had been a success, a winner of multiple prizes and fine reviews. In those first few weeks, she admitted that she was checking her rankings on Amazon regularly. As in daily.

"Don’t do that! It doesn’t mean anything," I cautioned her, and I believed it. I had just reread my marketing manual provided by University of Nebraska Press. The staff recommend that you invest little psychic stock in the Internet book-sellers’ rankings. This sounded sensible to me, especially since my book’s ranking lingered around 300,000^th place.

I don’t know the figures at UNP, but I’ve heard that first poetry books often sell around 500 copies, a book by a midlist established poet might expect to sell 1500, and a book by a first rank poet is considered successful when it sells 3000 copies. The idea of ranking poetry along with Stephen King and even literary authors like Philip Roth seems almost ludicrous.

Two weeks ago I heard from the press that Famous is going into a second printing. I am delighted. Itmeans the book is soon to sell more than 1000 copies and the press believes it will continue to sell "well" by poetry standards. This prompted my semi-usual self-conscious vanity-induced internet search for mentions of the book, capped by a visit to the Amazon sales page. I noticed the ranking had skyrocketed to the low 100,000’s. Wow.

I checked my book’s ranking the next day; it was at 88,000^th place (plus a few hundred).

Continue reading “An Amazon Confession”

Tricksters in the Madhouse: Lakers vs. Globetrotters, 1948y John Christgau "[A] fascinating look at a chapter of Chicago sports lore I am embarrassed to say was not familiar to me: an incredible game at the stadium between George Mikan’s Minneapolis Lakers and the Goose Taum-Marques Haynes Globetrotters, deadly serious for once, for what might have been the unofficial world championship back in the days before pro basketball allowed black players in its ranks."—Ron Rapoport, Chicago Tribune. Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Spring TrainingBy Chris Lamb "Lamb’s detailed and annotated research provides an in-depth examination of an important … Continue reading Crossing the Athletic Color Line

Spreading the Word by Richard T. Stillson “This unique analysis of information providers and users during the California Gold Rush is a smart read. Much of what Stillson discusses relates to concerns of the media in the present day, especially in terms of prospectors trying to determine if the established media is credible or if they should be relying on ‘local’ reports, referred to today as citizen journalism. Stillson’s book also includes useful appendixes to back up his intelligent, well-thought-out arguments. This book is a boon to the study of communications culture.”—True West Continue reading Praise for Spreading the Word

The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1855–1872: Volumes 1 and 2 Edited by Pierre A. Walker and Greg W. Zacharias “Luxuriously spacious design. . . . The textual editing of the letters is fantastically thorough, every blot, deletion, insertion and misspelling being lucidly presented in the text itself and further described in endnotes to each letter; for the reader this evokes the dash and spontaneity of James’s pen, and for the scholar it clarifies every possible ambiguity caused by that dash. . . . The letters themselves are so vivid, funny and revealing that [the edition] is already indispensable.”—Alan Hollinghurst, … Continue reading More Praise for The Complete Letters of Henry James

Houses of Study: A Jewish Woman Among Books by Ilana M. Blumberg “Tension wraps around the pages of Blumberg’s memoir, an ardent intellectual autobiography by a woman in love with both Jewish texts and secular literature. . . . [H]er memoir elucidates . . . the passion for study no matter what a person’s gender.”—Publishers Weekly “Houses of Study is a love affair with books. . . . For Blumberg, the pleasure of knowledge is always meant to be shared. . . . Her prose soars to a breathless lyricism when she enacts for us the pleasure and perils of … Continue reading Praise for Houses of Study

Because a Fire Was in My Head by Lynn Stegner “Stegner follows the tragic arc of Kate Riley, whose lifetime of self-destructive behavior takes her from rural Canada to a seaside cottage in northern California with plenty of gloomy pit stops along the way. . . . Kate’s downward spiral is undoubtedly grim, but Stegner punctuates it with muted hints of redemption; the result is uncommonly satisfying.”—Publishers Weekly “Brave and old-fashioned, Stegner’s supple use of language and precise evocation of period and place bring a literary intuitiveness to this inventive portrait of a scheming temptress, rendering with disarming psychological acuity … Continue reading Praise for Because a Fire Was in My Head