Haley Reading (Group 1) Nafissa Thompson-Spires's "Fatima, the Biloquist"

[Haley Reading groups Spring 2021] 

By Lakenzie Walls and Howard Rambsy II

In Nafissa Thompson-Spires's story “Fatima, the Biloquist: A Transformation Story” a teenage Black girl questions her identity and sense of self while attending a predominantly white school. She struggles to feel black enough and befriends Violet, a black teenager with albinism. Violet provides Fatima with guidance—teaching her different connotations and phrases with secondary Black-inflected meanings.

In one example, Fatima considers the racial implications associated with her brown top lip and pink lower one. At school around white people, “she talked with her pink lip, and with Violet, she talked with her brown one” (75). Fatima’s observations about navigating different environments as a Black girl persist throughout the story.

Identify what you thought of as an important scene from the story about the challenges awaiting a Black girl who “felt ready to become black, full black,” which is to say, a Black girl who embraces aspects of African American culture in more deliberate ways. How did that scene confirm or alter your views concerning what a Black girl might face? Please provide the page number for the scene you identify.

The Many Editions of Frederick Douglass's Narrative

For all kinds of reasons, I think about Frederick Douglass during the month of February. After all, the fact that Douglass chose February 14 as his birthday is one of the reasons that Black History Month, initially known as Negro History Week, was situated in this month. 

I was recently discussing my personal collection of editions of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, so I'm presenting images from my library here. 

[Related: The Frederick Douglass books]

Books and Authors as Connectors (An extended reading list)

Yesterday, I was talking with some good folks at ProQuest about how some books and authors serve as crucial connectors. I wanted to run down a list of twenty-five works--autobiographies, short stories, and more--that serve as gateways to various other works, at least for me. 

Autobiographies

Here are a few autobiographies that interrelate and then link to various other life stories. 

• The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1945) by Frederick Douglass 

• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) by Harriet Jacobs 

• Black Boy (1945) by Richard Wright 

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965) by Malcolm X

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) by Maya Angelou 

• Between the World and Me (2015) by Ta-Nehisi Coates 

[Related: A short reading list for my friends at ProQuest]

Short story collections

You want to check out a couple of short story collections that get you connected to other writers and ideas? Check out:

• All Aunt Hagar's Children (2006) by Edward P. Jones 

• Heads of the Colored People (2018) by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

Toni Morrison 

Yes, this vital figure and connector in fiction gets her own section. She wrote several novels, and more than a couple are considered canonical. Here are three that command the most attention:

• Beloved (1987) by Toni Morrison

• Song of Solomon (1977) by Toni Morrison 

• Sula (1973) by Toni Morrison 

Novels

Ok, let's talk about longer fiction. There are so many fine works. My lil list here is really subjective, but it might assist folks looking to get started. 

• Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston 

• The Intuitionist (1999) by Colson Whitehead 

• Seed to Harvest (2007). By Octavia Butler

• The Sellout (2015) by Paul Beatty 

• The Underground Railroad (2016) by Colson Whitehead 

• The Nickel Boys (2019) by Colson Whitehead 

• American Spy (2019) by Lauren Wilkinson 

Poetry 

I have compiled much longer lists of poetry (for example, volumes published 2000 - 2019). But here, I cite just a few examples of what we might refer to as narrative volumes of verse, that is books of poetry that tell a story. 

• Leadbelly (2005) by Tyehimba Jess. A volume about the legendary folk singer, Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter. 

• Blood Dazzler (2008) by Patricia Smith. A volume about Hurricane Katrina. 

• The Big Smoke (2013) by Adrian Matejka. A volume about the heavyweight champ, Jack Johnson.

Nonfiction 

• The New Jim Crow (2010). By Michelle Alexander. One of the most popular works on mass incarceration.  

• The Warmth of Other Suns (2010). By Isabel Wilkerson. Captivating narrative history of the Great Migration.

• We Were Eight Years in Power (2017). By Ta-Nehisi Coates. A collection of enlightening long-form articles. 

• Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (2018) by David Blight. Informative book on extraordinary figure. 

Related:

• A short reading list for my friends at ProQuest

•  A Notebook on Book Lists

A short reading list for my friends at ProQuest

Today for lunch, I was hanging out (no worries...online...so socially distant) with some folks from ProQuest. We were talking books, so of course, I have to hook'em up with a short book list. (Here's a slightly extended list). 

So here are 5 books that are good ones to dive into: 

1. Short stories. Heads of the Colored People (2018) by Nafissa Thompson-Spires. A fun and funny and darkly comedic collection of short stories.  

2. Novel: The Nickel Boys (2019) by Colson Whitehead. He remains one of my favorites. He's usually a humorous writer, but he takes up a serious subject here. The writing remains top-notch.

3. History/biography: Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (2018) by David Blight. This massive biography on Douglass is outstanding. I thought I knew a lot about Douglass, but after reading this book, I had humbly accept my status as a mere amateur Douglass scholar. Thanks Blight. 

4.  Novel: Song of Solomon (1977) by Toni Morrison. I planned to produce a list and leave Morrison off. But, who would I be not to include one by the G.O.A.T? Many literature scholars say Beloved (1987) is arguably one of the best novels ever written. Nah, they're wrong. Song of Solomon is the best novel.

5. Autobiography: The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) by Frederick Douglass. It's an oldie but goody. Douglass is such a wonderful connector to so many different strands in African American literature and history. People make lists and sometimes take Douglass's book for granted. Not me. He rounds out our short list.

Related: 

• Reading lists for Black Boys and Collegiate Black Men

• A few books to consider (A 2020 list for ProQuest)

Haley Reading (Group 2) Nafissa Thompson-Spires's "Belles Lettres"

[Haley Reading groups Spring 2021]

By Lakenzie Walls and Howard Rambsy II 

Nafissa Thompson-Spires's “Belles Lettres,” from her collection of stories Heads of the Colored People (2018) focuses on a pair of Black mothers of two girls at a predominantly white private school. The mothers exchange distasteful letters about each other’s daughters. The story, presented in the form of letters from the mothers, reveals the lengths they will go to uplift their own black daughter, even if it means belittling a rival’s child. 

In one example of the subtle insults that they toss at each other, one mother writers, “Perhaps the kids at Fatima’s old school were bad influences on her? Why did she change schools after first grade anyway? That’s generally a bad sign” (39). In her response, the other mother writes that “Not everyone is suited for literary work. I’m sure you know that from your own writing struggles” (40). Comments like those persist throughout the story. 

This story shows many instances of competitiveness between two apparently well-to-do Black women parents. Which instance of their competition stood out to you most? Briefly explain why that moment caught your attention. Please provide the page number(s) for the scene or quotation you provide.

Haley Reading (Group 1) Nafissa Thompson-Spires's "Belles Lettres"

[Haley Reading groups Spring 2021]

By Lakenzie Walls and Howard Rambsy II

Nafissa Thompson-Spires's “Belles Lettres,” from her collection of stories Heads of the Colored People (2018) focuses on a pair of Black mothers of two girls at a predominantly white private school. The mothers exchange distasteful letters about each other’s daughters. The story, presented in the form of letters from the mothers, reveals the lengths they will go to uplift their own black daughter, even if it means belittling a rival’s child.

In one example of the subtle insults that they toss at each other, one mother writers, “Perhaps the kids at Fatima’s old school were bad influences on her? Why did she change schools after first grade anyway? That’s generally a bad sign” (39). In her response, the other mother writes that “Not everyone is suited for literary work. I’m sure you know that from your own writing struggles” (40). Comments like those persist throughout the story.

This story shows many instances of competitiveness between two apparently well-to-do Black women parents. Which instance of their competition stood out to you most? Briefly explain why that moment caught your attention. Please provide the page number(s) for the scene or quotation you provide.

Haley Reading Groups (Spring 2021)

This semester for our Haley Reading groups, we'll cover Nafissa Thompson-Spires's Heads of the Colored People (2018). 

Group 1 

February 10 -- “Belles Lettres” (33-50) 

February 24 -- “Fatima, the Biloquist: A Transformation Story” (65-81) 

March 10 -- “The Body's Defenses Against Itself” (51-64) 

March 17 -- Collegiate experience in a pandemic

 March 24 -- "Heads of the Colored People” (1-14) 

April 7 -- “Wash Clean the Bones” (185-197) 

April 21 -- “Whisper to a Scream” (119-134) 

April 28 -- Reflections on storytelling 

Group 2 

February 17 -- “Belles Lettres” (33-50) 

March 3 -- “Fatima, the Biloquist: A Transformation Story” (65-81) 

March 17 -- “The Body's Defenses Against Itself” (51-64) 

March 24 -- Collegiate experience in a pandemic

March 31 -- "Heads of the Colored People” (1-14) 

April 14 -- “Wash Clean the Bones” (185-197) 

April 28 -- “Whisper to a Scream” (119-134) 

April 29 -- Reflections on storytelling 

Related: 

• Haley Reading Groups

Well-traveled poets Patricia Smith and Tyehimba Jess in conversation

For almost two decades now, I have been thinking and writing about the complexity of black poets moving between stage and page, that is, between performance and printed text, between audio and book histories, and while I have thought about many, many poets along these lines, I've spent a disproportionate amount of time considering three crucial artists: Amiri Baraka, Patricia Smith, and Tyehimba Jess. 

All three have produced outstanding, unforgettable performances and showcased their talents in literary journals, anthologies, and volumes of poetry. 

For these reasons, I was really excited to catch a recent video of Patricia Smith and Tyehimba Jess in conversation with each other. 

These aren't just two accomplished published poets in the conventional senses. Instead, they both  passed through the legendary Green Mill Lounge, a space widely viewed as a crucial site for the emergence of slam poetry. 

Smith and Jess were veterans of Green Mill, and then they went on to become award winners in the world of (print-based) poetry. Relatively few poets have made the kind of journeys from stage to page while balancing both that these two have. A conversation between Smith and Jess is therefore a conversation between two of our most well-traveled poets.  

During their discussion, Smith and Jess reflected on their experiences at Green Mill and with Cave Canem. Jess made a point, which he has noted in several different venues, that Smith was an important influence on his beginnings. He observed that hearing Smith's persona performances were vital. 

In turn, Smith offered really insightful and important comments about the importance of Jess's use of persona for her and others: 

[With leadbelly (2005)] You hooked me on the persona poem's ability to tell one person's whole story. You know, to move around and say I'm gonna animate this guitar because this guitar is so important in this story. And how each one of the voices were so different and alive, it was like being picked up and plopped down in the middle of a snippet of cinema or something and you couldn't wait to turn and say, "where's this going who's talking next." And so the idea that it was powerful enough to move within a single story and be effective. That's the first time I thought about that, and I think that changed a lot of things, Tyehimba, for a lot of people because if you look now someone says, you know, "I have a poetry book coming out," and the first thing someone says is "what's it about?" you know?  I think, I think that the seed, I think you were the seed for a lot of that, for our realization of what role the persona poem could play outside of just being a poetic device.

Look, I had to present her full comments there because she wonderfully captures what some of us have been attempting address for years concerning the implications of leadbelly. Smith was also providing a cultural history from the perspective of a leading poet. It also needs to be said that in addition to being such a superb poet, Smith is a remarkable storyteller. You get that from her poets and her conversations. 

Whatever the case, consider that these two slam poet veterans were charting out a book history of poetry. 

Related: 

•  A notebook on Tyehimba Jess

Blogging about Poetry in January 2021

[Related content: Blogging about Poetry]

• January 30: Black Poets and the Academy of American Poets

• January 25: Amanda Gorman's reading raises interest in Poets.org

• January 23: The Psychedelic Literature Newsletter and uses of "Black" in 2020

• January 23: Background on the Psychedelic Literature Newsletter

• January 22: Amanda Gorman and the worlds of Black Poetry

• January 14: Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison and the Underground

• January 8: MF Doom, Richard Wright, and the Underground

• January 1: Blogging about poetry in December 2020