|
Overview
Robert Fleming's unique collection
of erotic short stories reveals black sensuality that's
imaginative and touching as well as breath-taking and
sweat-breaking. Stereotyped as studs and dominatrices, portrayed
in videos with gyrating booties backing it up to spraddle-legged
loins, black people rarely encounter literary and pop images
integrating their genital sexuality with head, heart, work,
commitment and soul hunger. So, Fleming has intentionally
selected stories about heterosexual coupling that illustrate a
principle claimed by Maya Angelou: the hottest erogenous zone is
between our ears, not between our legs. Have no fear, though;
fire down below is by no means neglected here. But it ain't porn—sex reduced to its least human terms — when the
titillation flows from the pens of Old Masters like John A.
Williams and Clarence Major, the lush vision of Syracuse
University fiction professor Arthur Flowers and the feminist
consciousness of New Orleans arts guru Kalamu ya Salaam, who
edited The Black Collegian for more than a decade and has moved
on to co-found a multi-media publishing company, lead a poetry
performance ensemble and cut a spoken-word CD.
After Hours
* * *
* *
He was blessed with good looks and a
bag full of humour and lies, but his luck never shone in
the 419 business. He failed to make it even at a time
when it seemed that every Igbo brother living in Festac
town was hitting it big in the advance fee fraud scam,
and relied on his charm and good looks to survive. He
never lacked women (single desperate ladies and sugar
mummies scattered all over Lagos) who are willing to
take care of him.
When he met Chinwe, he told her that
he was a business man, car importer, exporter and
general contractor. He always managed to convince a
friend to lend him one of their state-of-the-art cars
which he used to take Chinwe for a spin around the
block, and ferry her across town to Victoria Island
where her office was located. What he didn’t tell her
was that he was also a merchant in a special type of
commodity – women like her. Chinwe fell for his charm, looks,
lies and false promises.
Contemporary African Women Struggle With
Love
* * *
* *
This is not to say that black men are
not capable of loving white women and vice versa, and
don’t you go thinking that I’m racially biased/ No, I am
not. I have been with white chics in the past but surely
like attracts like. I’m down with our black sisters any
day, for reasons that wifey won’t like to see me mention
here. Again, don’t call me a racist, we sure do have
lots of unmarried sisters in our communities, and it
would help our cause if the likes of Ashley Cole do also
look their way, as role models to young black men, they
should set the pace.
Who says black sisters cannot
generate enough column inches and media profile, capable
of attracting sponsorships and increased earnings for
black brothers? The person should
check out Naomi Campbell, a sister like that is
capable of reviving dead careers with her on your side.
That’s what I’m talking about. Black
Brothers And Their White Chics
* * *
* *
* * *
* *
|
This Time
This time
I won't show I'm vulnerable
This time
I won't give in first
This time
I will hold out with my love
This time
I will not be hurt
I'm gonna love myself
More than anyone else
I'm gonna treat me right
I'm gonna make you say
That you love me first
—Tracy Chapman |
 |
* * *
* *
With clothes in hand, Mavis stood trying to figure what was the better
choice, try to dress quickly and silently in here, or slip naked back into the
front room and dress in there. Suppose Raoul woke up while she was dressing?
Suppose when she moved to go into the front room the floor squeaked or the door
squealed and Raoul saw her naked? How could she explain this to Raoul?
Raoul Silver Song
* * *
* *
 |
Dark Eros: Black Erotic Writings
By Reginald Martin, Ph.D.
Editor
Martin, who coedited Erotique Noire (LJ
9/1/92), continues his study of erotica by
African American writers with this
compilation of short fiction and avant-garde
poetry by largely unknown authors; most of
the 70-odd pieces are published here for the
first time. Although a few of the pieces
portray sex in sensual or humorous tones,
many treat it disturbingly to express rage
at both relationships and the inner-city
black experience. Martin's annotations and
the afterword by poet Lenard D. Moore
attempt to place the works in the context of
modern African American urban literature and
to offer an academic introduction to a genre
that would otherwise have limited appeal.
The result may be interesting, but many of
the pieces lack polish or eroticism.
Recommended for libraries with large African
American collections.—Ellen
Flexman, Library Journal |
* * *
* *
She was wearing an
all-blown out Afro which circled her head like an
angel’s halo, immaculate Mac makeup and a beautiful,
colourful flowered summer dress which revealed her
well-shaped shoulders, part of her back and pronounced
her breasts sensuously. At 5 feet 7 she was all curves
with cello-shaped hips and a considerable Africa-blessed
behind. Her pretty feet were in flat brown Aldo sandals
and her toes were perfectly manicured with silver nail
polish. She wore a toe-ring on each second toe. She did
not quite look like those high-maintenance girls who men
tried to avoid in an effort to control their wallet
strings, but it was clear that she took care of herself.
She looked beautiful with her small nose, thick lips,
trimmed eyebrows, long lashes, high cheekbones and her
large sepia-coloured eyes.
Forbidden Fruit
* * *
* *
|
Intimacy: Erotic Stories of Love, Lust, and Marriage by
Black Men
Edited by Robert
Fleming
Inventive conceits dominate in Fleming's
second collection of erotic stories (after
2002's After
Hours) by African-American writers
both new and established. Sexual frustration
proves to be a nice point of entry for
sci-fi writer Stephen Barnes in "Jet Lag,"
as a writer's busy schedule and a visiting
mother-in-law keep the flames of love in
check until a final, explosive release.
Kinky sex takes center stage in Reginald
Brown's "Almond Eyes," a cautionary tale
about a young man whose hot, older and
erotically adventurous girlfriend might be
sucking the life out of him. In Gary Earl
Ross's "Lucky She's Mine," a criminologist
rescues and marries a battered woman, only
to be stalked by her ex after he gets out of
prison, while in "Forty-five Is Not So Old,"
Kalamu ya Salaam presents
the sad dilemma of a middle-aged woman
lamenting her husband's lack of desire for
her even as he lies in a hotel with his
mistress. Cecil Brown provides a cheeky
moment of comic relief in an excerpt from
his novel Days Without Weather, "A
Fan's Love," in which a woman seduces a
comedian after his show, and demands good
loving and good jokes to spur her to a
stirring climax. Despite the occasional
clunker, and the lack of a couple of longer,
more complex stories to balance the
quick-hit situational material, Fleming has
assembled another volume that's sure to
please. |
 |
* * *
* *
Actually, the Crack Ho put the
prostitute out of business in the hood. How can a nigguh pimp a
two dollar Crack Ho? Those men familiar with the crack ritual no
longer bothered dating square women. The Crack Ho made the
"chase" unnecessary. She was more accessible and
reasonable than the square woman and the prostitute. No
conversation was necessary, just drop the rock on the table and
it was on. She performed all manner of tricks, surpassing any
monkey in the zoo.
And now her sexual manners have infected hip
hop culture. The video ho's reflect the Crack Ho's unabashed
shamelessness and debauchery. Actually, the video ho is a Miller
lite version of the Crack Ho. The video ho's origin is the Crack
House because it was there that the negress performed for
basically nothing, a crumb of crack. The video ho's also perform
for nothing, for a chance to be seen. My daughter closed down
her New York casting company because she became tired and
disgusted sending her sisters out to be video ho's.
It is almost laughable to hear women
speak of themselves as "Sisters of Integrity," in light
of all I have seen and participated in during my sojourn
as a Crack Head.
Negro
Psychosexuality
* * *
* *
 |
Erotique Noire/Black Erotica
Edited by Miriam Decosta-Willis, Reginald
Martin, and Roseann P. Bell
The
editors are to be congratulated for amassing
a collection of erotica worthy in its own
right because of the writers showcased,
among them Alice Walker, Chester Himes,
Gloria Naylor, Jewelle Gomez, Charles
Blockson, Audre Lorde, and Essex Hemphill.
Coverage is not limited to African American
writers but includes African, Caribbean
American, and Latin American writers,
whether straight or gay, of prose, poetry,
or fiction. For some authors, this anthology
features their first piece of erotic
writing. Readers will be familiar with other
selections, for example, Lorde's "Uses of
the Erotic: The Erotic as Power." As a
whole, this book successfully challenges
stereotypical notions about black erotica
and serves up delightful sexual tidbits for
just about everyone's taste.—Faye
A. Chadwell, Library Journal |
* * *
* *
Brown
Sugar 2 features renowned black
authors writing outside of the genre they are known for, but in
their own unique style, creating sexually real and emotionally
vulnerable, women and men. Whether born in the North, South,
East, or West, or the Caribbean, whether living uptown, downtown
or in small town middle America; whether a college freshmen or a
sexy senior citizen; the collection's eclectic characters share
a common bond: the yearning for a purely passionate connection
for just that moment. "A one-night stand is not about the
unremarkable, the practical or the mundane," Taylor states.
"It is about the fantasy of what could be though we know it
will not be and the beauty of not caring. Either way, it feels
good to be bad. That's probably why we do it."
Brown Sugar
* * *
* *
* *
* * *
|
Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
|
 |
* *
* * *
|
|
Sister Grief: Defined and Conquered in Jesus
By Yvonne Terry-Lewis
"Sister Grief: Defined and Conquered in Jesus" is an engaging book that confronts the universal experience of living with death and dying. The author personifies the personal loss of loved ones as "Sister Grief." The book, partly autobiographical, provides a holistic plan for conquering grief through faith, through a special relationship with Jesus. This plan is designed to help navigate one through the grieving process.
The book includes personal stories, poetry, testimonials, letters, practical suggestions, and strategies based on a love for the divinity in one's life. Although the circumstances that cause grief may be sad, this book is filled with love, encouragement, and hope that lead one towards spiritual health and wholeness.
What Consolation Is Christ to Suffering
The Michael D Terry Scholarship Board |
* * * * *
The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
* *
* * *
Ancient African Nations
* * * * *
If you like this page consider making a donation
* * * * *
Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
Enjoy!
* * * * *
The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
* *
* * *
The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
* * * * *
* *
* * *
created 13 October
2007
|
