Synopses & Reviews
A literary rent party to benefit the Hurston/Wright Foundation of African-American fiction, with selections to savor from bestselling authors as well as talented rising stars.
Not since Terry McMillans Breaking Ice have so many African-American writers been brought together in one volume. A stellar collection of works from more than fifty hot names in fiction, Gumbo represents remarkable synergy. Edited by bestselling luminaries Marita Golden and E. Lynn Harris, this collection spans new and previously published tales of love and luck, inspiration and violation, hip new worlds and hallowed heritage from voices such as:
• Edwidge Danticat
• Eric Jerome Dickey
• Kenji Jasper
• John Edgar Wideman
• Terry McMillan
• David Anthony Durham
• Bertice Berry
…and many, many more
Also featuring original stories by Golden and Harris themselves, Gumbo heralds the debut of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards for Published Black Writers (scheduled for October 2002), and all advances and royalties from the book will support the Hurston/Wright Foundation. Combining authors with a variety of flavorful writing, Gumbo will have readers clamoring for second helpings.
About the Author
A distinguished essayist and novelist,
Marita Golden is the author of nine books, including the bestseller LONG DISTANCE LIFE. Also the president and founding director of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, she lives in Washington, D.C.
E. Lynn Harris is a former IBM computer sales executive and a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He is the author of seven previous novels, including, the NYT bestselling ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS, and NOT A DAY GOES BY(which debuted in the #2 position on the NYT list). In 1996, JUST AS I AM was awarded the "Novel of the Year" prize by the Blackboard African American Bestsellers, Inc. ABIDE WITH ME and IF THIS WORLD WERE MINE were both nominated for NAACP Image Awards and IF THIS WORLD WERE MINE won the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence. He divides his time between New York and Chicago.
Table of Contents
About the Hurston/Wright Foundation -- Note / E. Lynn Harris -- Note / Marita Golden -- Dew breaker / Edwidge Danticat ; from Erasure / Percival Everett ; from RL's dream / Walter Mosley ; from The Harris men / R.M. Johnson ; Boy-fish / David Anthony Durham ; Way I see it / Terry McMillan ; from Pride / Lorene Cary ; from What looks like crazy on an ordinary day / Pearl Cleage ; Mourning glo / Lori Bryant-Woolridge ; from These same long bones / Gwendolyn M. Parker ; Your child can be a model! / David Haynes ; from Song of the water saints / Nelly Rosario ; Miss Prissy and the penitentiary / Yolanda Joe ; Luminous days / Mitchell Jackson ; from Only twice I've wished for heaven / Dawn Turner Trice ; Sonny-boy / Agymah Kamau ; from Water marked / Helen Elaine Lee ; from October suite / Maxine Clair ; Like trees, walking / Ravi Howard ; Weight / John Edgar Wideman ; from Thieves' paradise / Eric Jerome Dickey ; from P.G. County / Connie Briscoe ; My heavenly father / Dana Crum ; Lion's blood / Steven Barnes ; Knowing / Tananarive Due ; Luscious / Bernice L. McFadden ; from Crawfish dreams / Nancy Rawles ; Press and curl / Tayari Jones ; I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies / Sandra Jackson-Opoku ; Draggin' the dog / Anika Nailah ; Museum guide / Shay Youngblood ; School / Veronica Chambers ; Ghost story / Victor D. Lavalle ; Clarity / David Wright ; My mama, your mama / Connie Porter / from Rails under my back / Jeffrey Renard Allen ; from Dakota grand / Kenji Jasper ; Dinner party / E. Lynn Harris ; Meeting Frederick / Jewell Parker Rhodes ; Eva and Isaiah / Valerie Wilson Wesley ; from Discretion / Elizabeth Nunez ; Orange line train to Ballston / Edward P. Jones ; Lucielia Louise Turner / Gloria Naylor ; Fortune / R. Erica Doyle ; $100 and nothing! / J. California Cooper ; Are you experienced? / Danzy Senna ; Group Solo / Scott Poulson Bryant ; Love / Bertice Berry ; from Breathing room / Patricia Elam ; Love / Mat Johnson ; Antiquated desires / Cris Burks ; from Rest for the weary / Arthur Flowers ; from Church folk / Michele Andrea Bowen ; from Commitment / Thomas Glave ; Black and Boo / Michael Kayode ; Rossonian days / William Henry Lewis ; Helter Skelter / Marita Golden ; Here / Audrey Petty ; Summer comes later / Robert Fleming ; Bulging bag / Unoma N. Azuah ; from Sap rising / Christine Lincoln ; Fire : an origin tale / Faith Adiele ; Tan Son Nhut Airport, Ho Chi Minh City, 1997 / Genaro Ky Ly Smith ; Between Black and White / Nicole Bailey-Williams ; Hincty / Karen Bates ; To Haiti or to Hell / Alexs D. Pate ; Mirror image / Amy Du Bois Barnett ; from What you owe me / Bebe Moore Campbell ; Will not be televised / Jewell Gomez ; Fear of floating / Bryan Gibson ; from The queen of Harlem / Brian Keith Jackson ; My girl Mona / Crystal Wilkinson.