Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 116
May 12, 2010
last summer
The latest installment in the What a Girl Wants series is up at Chasing Ray. This time around Colleen asked us to consider what books we wish we'd read before heading off to college (or before your senior year—I misread the question!). My choices: Kindred and One Crazy Summer. What about you? Here's what Tanita Davis had to say about her younger self:
I don't think I knew how to think through the grays in life, even as a high school junior. In my conservative Christian school, everything...
May 11, 2010
A for admiration
I can't say that I loved Big Machine, but I have great admiration for its author, Victor LaValle, and his decision to construct a narrative that is original, engaging, and surprising. I haven't read anything like it, didn't realize it was (sort of) sci-fi, and love that the cast included black folks who don't often get to play the hero in literary fiction. I'm not sure I can actually summarize the bizarre plot, but the very ordinary tone and realism of the book are actually what makes it...
May 10, 2010
RIP Lena Horne
Lena Horne passed away last night here in NYC; she was 92. I have to say, I think I first heard of Lena Horne when I was a kid watching The Cosby Show. And when she finally appeared on the show, I couldn't understand why Cliff Huxtable thought she was such a great beauty. But then I hit graduate school and saw Stormy Weather…and then I saw her appeal (though I couldn't separate her talent from her *very* light skin). Lena Horne once lived in Brooklyn, and word is Alicia Keys will be...
May 9, 2010
I've always been a handful…
They called me "butterball"…
May 6, 2010
Book Blogger Convention
If you're in NYC or will be for the upcoming Book Expo, why not attend the Book Blogger Convention? I'll be on the day's last panel: "Blogging with Social Responsibility." Here's the complete agenda:
Agenda
The agenda is still being fine tuned, but this will give you an idea of what we're planning. Registration will begin at 7:30am, and the convention itself will start at 9:00am.
Keynote Speaker
Maureen Johnson [Blog]
Professionalism and Ethics in BloggingRon Hogan [Houghton Mifflin...
May 4, 2010
Mitali's Fire Escape
Many thanks to author Mitali Perkins for featuring me on her blog! Mitali wanted to know more about the AmazonEncore program, so I filled her in on some of the details…
If you want to hear another AmazonEncore author's perspective, stop by Gal Novelty to meet Andrew Xia Fukuda (author of Crossing) AND enter a great giveaway!
And if you need MORE proof that self-publishing is a viable option, read this Publisher's Weekly article by John Edgar Wideman…
By self-publishing, I hope to liberate...
May 3, 2010
"Giving Up the Myth of Meritocracy"
The Rejectionist asked me to write a guest post for her blog, and I repaid her kindness by submitting an examination of the role race plays in publishing. Do only "the very best writers" make it into print? Would more writers of color get published if they just worked harder and had "the right attitude"? Following Peggy McIntosh's approach, I came up with a list of 16 advantages that white writers can count on when they venture into the publishing arena. Here's a sample:
4. You can be...
May 2, 2010
Writers on Writing
Tune in this evening at 7pm to hear my conversation with Dr. Brenda Greene on her radio show, Writers on Writing…WNYE 91.5FM. And tomorrow night at 11pm Pia Lindstrom Presents will air the interview we taped a while back…
a whale of a city
Yesterday I woke at 6am in order to leave the house at 7 to catch my 8am train to Hudson, NY. I had a headache, but figured it was just sinus-related since my allergies have been out of control. But then the familiar symptoms of a migraine set in, and so I called Amtrak, moved my departure time up to 10am, and took some medication…by the time I got on the train I was starving, so I ate a bagel and kept the bag it came in just in case the movement of the train made me ill. Not a great...
April 30, 2010
Arbor Day
It's Arbor Day and I'd like to hug a tree but just a couple of hours outdoors yesterday had me wheezing and sneezing and searching for my inhaler. The lilacs are almost spent, so if you haven't been to the botanic garden (and you're in the city) you might want to get there soon…peonies in bloom, bluebells coming soon…but allergies made me want to drink a gallon of water and sleep for three hours…
I finished reading One Crazy Summer yesterday and it was EXCELLENT! Daring, really, and I'm...
