|
Books by Kola Boof
Nile
River Woman (Poems, Feb. 10, 2004) /
Long Train to the Redeeming
Sin-Stories About African Women
(April 6, 2004)
Flesh and the Devil: A Novel
(May 11, 2004) /
Diary of a Lost Girl
(2007)
*
* * * *
"Virgins in the Beehive" by Kola Boof
Release Date: To Be Announced
Reviewed by Miss Egypt
XM-Radio Morning Drive
*Revised version
Hey kiddies,
Kola Boof sent me a special
preview copy of her upcoming novel "VIRGINS IN THE BEEHIVE", and
I just had to tell you about it now!OK, I'm going to start this
review by just calling a spade a spade. "VIRGINS IN THE
BEEHIVE". . . the story of three beautiful black girls who
become superstars by forming a Hip Hop singing group...IS
THE SHIT
But a fair warning to those
high brow Kola Boof literary fans who will be expecting the
serious "literary novels" that you're used to reading by her (Flesh
and the Devil,
Long Train to the Redeeming Sin)—this ain't that type of book. She calls this one a "pop novel", a
"departure" and "pure escapist fun". I call the book fierce,
because despite what Kola said in her letter, she still brings
up some very serious issues (the explosion of white women
getting "butt implants" is covered in grim detail through blond
bombshell Koko-Tee for instance), the only difference is that
for this novel, she used the breezy back drop of hip hop, glam
life and the bling bling set. Everybody's here—even the Joss
Stone/Black Cherry types "doing you know what for beats", LOL!
I loved the book's
insistence that Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain was murdered and
I loved the way the book salutes Cobain, Kurtis Blow, the Mary
Jane Girls, Diana Ross and so many others—I also love how the
characters featured in the book are obviously based on real life
superstars.
 |
Like I'm sure DESTINY MATTHEWS is
really Buffie the Body and Kola Boof combined into
one character, I'm sure JENNASET JONES, the stunning
leading lady of the book, is really Whitney Houston
(maybe with some Courtney Love traits) and I'm
positive that the group's sensitive but gifted
songwriter, DARLING NIKKI, is based on Alicia Keys
(Every story in here is the bomb, but I loved
Darling Nikki's story).
Back to characters I think are
based on celebrities. I'm not even going to name who
the Super-Bitch of the story "Athena Hornet" is
supposed to be, but I do wish the book's sexy
LEADING MAN, chocolate fine ass "too good to be
true" STEVEN FRAME would come to life so I could
rock his world. The way Kola writes, she makes you
dream about that man! He's like a Spike Lee
filmmaker in the book only he's SUPER FINE (in more
ways than one—wink*). If they ever do a movie of
this (which they really need to), then Idris Elba or
Morris Chestnut should play STEVEN FRAME. |
Which reminds me . . . the
"sex" in this book is obscene!
Not since Sister Souljah's
The Coldest Winter Ever has there been a "street-lit" hip hop
novel this exciting, this original and this DARING (in fact add
some "bold" and some "no she didn't!" to the DARING part). This
book is off the chain, and though I haven't been enthused by the
various controversies surrounding Kola Boof's personal life the
last few years, I have to give her props on writing "VIRGINS IN
THE BEEHIVE"—it's a classic.
The girl can write.—Miss Egypt, XM radio
morning drive
*Reprinted by permission.
* *
* * *
 |
Alek: My Life from Sudanese Refugee to
International Supermodel
By
Alek Wek
"When I
cleaned toilets, I only saw it as work to
give me the means to achieve my goals. Of
course I hated it," the Sudanese supermodel
exclaimed. "Waking up at 4 a.m. when it's
freezing cold is not easy, followed by Uni,
coursework and my evening baby-sitting job,
but it made me disciplined and gave me a
huge sense of self-appreciation."
Born
the seventh of nine children Alek, meaning
'black-spotted cow' (one of Sudan's most
treasured cows, which represents good luck),
never dreamt of becoming a model. Both in
her motherland, where she was considered to
be inferior due to her Dinka tribe (dubbed
as 'zurqa', meaning dirty black) and again
in Britain when she arrived in 1991, she
faced hostility.—Jamaica-Gleaner |
|
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.
|
 |
* *
* * *
 |
Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
updated 24 March 2008
|
