What do you think?
Rate this book
Callaloo & Other Lesbian Love Tales
An exciting young black lesbian voice capturing the stories of our lesbian mothers, aunts and neighbors.
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1999
2 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
LaShonda Katrice Barnett
8 books100 followersLaShonda Katrice Barnett is an American author, radio host, teacher, lecturer. Her fiction, music books and plays are known for their themes about the African diaspora and race. She has a collection of short stories, three music books, a trilogy of full-length plays. Her 2015 debut novel Jam! On the Vine, drew attention to the author and scholar. In 2014, Barnett's short stories were featured in The Chicago Tribune, Gemini Magazine and Guernica Magazine. She's been nominated twice for the 2015 Pushcart Prize.
LaShonda Katrice Barnett was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1974. She grew up on Park Forest, Illinois. Barnett has identified herself as a lesbian and often writes with same-sex female characters in mind in her short stories, plays and her first novel Jam! On the Vine. She's held residencies at the Noepe Center for Literary Arts-Martha’s Vineyard, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and the Fine Arts Work Center. She's been a Tennessee Williams Fellow and received a Standards Best Small Press Book Award for her short stories collection "Callalou & Other Lesbian Love Tales" in 2007.
Barnett has a love for music, as evidenced with her jazz program for WBAI (99.5 FM, NYC). She hosted a jazz show. In 2007, Barnett interviewed female musicians about the African diaspora and edited "I Got Thunder: Black Women Songwriters On Their Craft and "Off The Record: Conversations With African American & Brazilian Women Musicians" in 2015. Barnett lectured on women in jazz at the Lincoln Center and in on jazz as a whole in several countries.
Barnett taught at Columbia University and Sarah Lawrence College on history and literature.
Barnett received her B.A. from the University of Missouri, a M.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a Ph. D. in American Studies from the College of William and Mary. She earned a B.A. in Women's History from the University of Missouri and an M.A. in Women's History from Sarah Lawrence College. Barnett received grants for her work from National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and the College Language Association.
Barnett lives in upper west side Manhattan as a full-time writer.
(from Wikipedia)
LaShonda Katrice Barnett was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1974. She grew up on Park Forest, Illinois. Barnett has identified herself as a lesbian and often writes with same-sex female characters in mind in her short stories, plays and her first novel Jam! On the Vine. She's held residencies at the Noepe Center for Literary Arts-Martha’s Vineyard, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and the Fine Arts Work Center. She's been a Tennessee Williams Fellow and received a Standards Best Small Press Book Award for her short stories collection "Callalou & Other Lesbian Love Tales" in 2007.
Barnett has a love for music, as evidenced with her jazz program for WBAI (99.5 FM, NYC). She hosted a jazz show. In 2007, Barnett interviewed female musicians about the African diaspora and edited "I Got Thunder: Black Women Songwriters On Their Craft and "Off The Record: Conversations With African American & Brazilian Women Musicians" in 2015. Barnett lectured on women in jazz at the Lincoln Center and in on jazz as a whole in several countries.
Barnett taught at Columbia University and Sarah Lawrence College on history and literature.
Barnett received her B.A. from the University of Missouri, a M.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a Ph. D. in American Studies from the College of William and Mary. She earned a B.A. in Women's History from the University of Missouri and an M.A. in Women's History from Sarah Lawrence College. Barnett received grants for her work from National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and the College Language Association.
Barnett lives in upper west side Manhattan as a full-time writer.
(from Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 6, 2012
This is one of my favorite lesbian anthologies for a reason: it covers the modern lesbian experience from all walks of life. There's the story of a couple that has been together for over twenty-something years, sitting on a porch anticipating dinner; First girl-crushes; and the pain of losing family members who refuse to accept a Carribean-American woman for who she is. Luckilly for her, her girlfriend eases her pain for home with Calloloo. I recommend this book to anyone who truelly appreciates the variety of lives we lead as African American lesbians.
November 24, 2017
Filling and satisfying.
I read this collection of love stories in one afternoon and I already want to re-read Callaloo. loved how each story wove a different part of a larger tapestry of black lesbian love. I found myself in just about every story even though these stories are not my own. I read these stories after falling absolutely and madly in love with Jam on the Vine, Barnett's 2015 novel.
I highly recommend devoting a quiet afternoon to the stories in Callaloo.
I read this collection of love stories in one afternoon and I already want to re-read Callaloo. loved how each story wove a different part of a larger tapestry of black lesbian love. I found myself in just about every story even though these stories are not my own. I read these stories after falling absolutely and madly in love with Jam on the Vine, Barnett's 2015 novel.
I highly recommend devoting a quiet afternoon to the stories in Callaloo.
January 4, 2019
Really beautiful stories that awaken parts of ourselves we've kept hidden or turned off. Barnett tells the most warm, soul-enriching story in one breath, and in the next moves seamlessly into a heartbreaking story that leaves the reader in tears and with an ache inside from their own lost loves.
February 19, 2016
Stories of love that take you back.
The stories in this book explore love from many angles. New, old, unexpected, hard won, fought for, fought against, carefully prepared, and unexpected. Some of them even make me cringe as they remind me of past relationships. The best of the stories immerse you in the rich emotional world of the characters. Some challenged me to think differently about history and relationships.
The stories in this book explore love from many angles. New, old, unexpected, hard won, fought for, fought against, carefully prepared, and unexpected. Some of them even make me cringe as they remind me of past relationships. The best of the stories immerse you in the rich emotional world of the characters. Some challenged me to think differently about history and relationships.
February 5, 2016
Stories of love that take you back
The stories in this book explore love from many angles. New, old, unexpected, hard won, fought for, fought against, carefully prepared, and unexpected. Some of them even make me cringe as they remind me of past relationships. The best of the stories immerse you in the rich emotional world of the characters. Some challenged me to think differently about history and relationships.
The stories in this book explore love from many angles. New, old, unexpected, hard won, fought for, fought against, carefully prepared, and unexpected. Some of them even make me cringe as they remind me of past relationships. The best of the stories immerse you in the rich emotional world of the characters. Some challenged me to think differently about history and relationships.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews