Wanted: More Good Black Literature

By Dr. Maxine Thompson
http://www.maxinethompson.com
http://www.maxinethompsonbooks.com
Hostage of Lies, Voted Best Book 2009
http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?HTML=352823

It is no secret that the economy has affected the sales of African American books. (See Publisher’s Weekly. (http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6711430.html)

However, from reports from different book clubs, there is another problem affecting Black Book sales. Readers are getting tired of the same old, cookie-cutter book.

Recently a group of Black Book Clubs had a teleconference wherein there was a consensus that too many Black books reek of too much sex, too much violence, and too much scandalous drama. Some readers even say they are turning back to white books because they are looking for more life-affirming, character-driven, and fresh substance or content in their fiction.

This is disturbing, to me as an agent, as a writer, and as an editor. As an editor, I push writers to tell their best story—to reach down into their guts and bleed on to the page. In fact, some of the books I’ve content edited (or in one case, been the agent for),  have won awards or been voted as best Book of 2009, or 2010. To name a few, Carl Weber’s upcoming novel, Big Girls Do Cry, (Contemporary
Fiction), and Vickie Stringer’s The Reason Why (Street Fiction), Tina McKinney, Deep Deception, http://www.facebook.com/notes/radiah-hubbert/urban-reviewscom-presents-the-best-reviewed-books-of-2009/413079745645 , La Jill Hunt’s Say It Ain’t So, http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?HTML=352823,
Shelia Goss, (I’m her agent), author of the Bestselling Young Adult Lip Gloss Chronicles. http://edcmagazine.blogspot.com/2010/01/25-ya-power-reads-of-decade-2000-2009.html.

Other writers mentioned that are with my publisher , Urban Books, are Dwayne Joseph, Home Wrecker, and Pat Simmons, Not Guilty of Love. Congrats to everyone on the list.

Nonetheless, in spite of the good news, we still need more books that hit the reader in the solar plexus. There are those of us who hunger for good Black literature. We want stories that both entertain, and educate. We don’t just want to see the worst of Black Life without redemption. We’d like to see character arcs and narrative flow. Don’t pigeon-hole yourself as a writer.

For example, I’ve never been a fan of science fiction, but I attended a Science Fiction Conference the weekend after Thanksgiving, 2009. Tananarive Due and her husband Steve Barnes were the guests of honor in a predominantly white field of literature. Why? Because they are not writing cookie-cutter books. Just sitting in on the workshops, I learned that a lot of research and forward thinking go into building a futuristic or fantasy world. Just look at the success of the movie, “Avatar.”
If you’re a writer, why not try different genres? Why not try mysteries, thrillers, or crime fiction? Stretch yourself.

My next novel, LA Blues, is my first step into an urban crime thriller. Hostage of Lies is more of a historical/contemporary/paranormal piece.

I recently interviewed an author, who will remain nameless, who left a major New York publishing house to return to self-publishing because she refused to fill her books with sex and drama. I read numerous books, including literature from all cultures, and I do not see other ethnic books filled with sensationalism. Why should our craft be lessened?

We are accountable to our readers, and the image we portray of our people is important.

But, it’s not too late to pick up the pen. To rephrase the late Renaissance writer, composer/photographer/film director, Gordon Parks, let’s use our pen as our weapon of choice, and turn this image around.