Customer Reviews

Cuttin' Up: Wit and Wisdom From Black Barber Shops

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I truly loved this book. My heart leapt in my chest when I saw it on the book shelf. As a "kitchen-barber" for more than twenty-years I was ecstatic to see the subject matter bound with photographs and ready to read.

The barbershop has for men of African decent been a respite from women, life's pressures, etiquette, censorship and sometimes reality for many years. This highly valued institution often serves the community as an outreach center, political platform, advice booth, stand-up comedy tryout club and therapist's couch. Craig Maybery has struck gold again with an enjoyable foray into the subtleties of African American culture. Like his book, "Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats" Mayberry gives the reader a clear insight into the passion Blacks have for their turn at at an American tradition. It was so refreshing to see an accurate view of the black barbershop which isn't exaggerated as in the films, Barbershop I and II or butchered like the Showtime adaptation "Barbershop"; (What a MESS!)

Using 49 short biographical stories the author gives us an authentic look into the motivations, tragedies, humor and passions of the men and women who cut and style the afro-american hair shaft. The portraits of these barbers are as they presented themselves to the author. They are human: Flawed, Dedicated, Unique and Proud.

The only disappointment I had in reading this book was not being able to find present-day photos of all of the subjects interviewed. I intend to give several of these books as gifts. A beautiful tribute to the men (or women) everyone needs and uses and takes for granted and noone wants to lose. Your barber.

If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times: black people have a special relationship with their hair. In CUTTIN' UP, Craig Marberry has put together a collection of interesting vignettes that highlight black barber shops around the nation. The stories introduce us to all kinds of people, some barbers, some patrons, some famous, and some lesser known. Each passage includes relevant photographs, usually of the narrator. The book covers a myriad of issues and topics including haircuts as a rite of passage, civil rights and the barber shop, barber shop camaraderie, funny stories and superstitions. Some stories are humorous, others are sad and all are educational.

Marberry has put together a well-organized collection that will remind readers that the ordinary things in life like going to the barber shop for a shape up can have a meaningful impact on one's life. This is a book you can pick up again and again and find at least one or two passages that will speak to you. By sharing stories told by an assortment of contributors, the author highlights our cultural diversity. The accompanying photographs make the stories even more personal and some of them are worth a second, more thoughtful look on the basis of their pure artistry alone. CUTTIN' UP didn't move emotional mountains for me, but the passages did make me smile and leave me with a sense of warmth. (RAW Rating: 3.5)

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

I'm excited to meet this author and hopefully get my book signed at the Printer's Row. I find men to so entertaining, and I always wanted to hang with them when I was little. I never could talk my father/brother/grandfather into letting me follow them to the barbershop and even when I got my tattoo, I was in the back. I was crazy about the first "Barbershop" movie (the 2nd one was cool too) and when I saw this book, I couldn't get my hands on it fast enough. I loved reading the stories about the male barbers facing bad haircuts, capping, crime, discrimination, the younger generation, fatherhood, manners and women. There was even some eye candy: Marcques Tatum, Jabreel Ali, Kola Olosunde, and Lennie Bosley. The beginning stories were a little dry, but it picked up tremendously towards the middle.

Thanks to the popularity of a recent movie, Barbershop, the public's attention has focused on the central gathering place for black men, the local barbershop. In an oral history that covers every aspect of community life, Marberry gathers stories from across the country, from "Detroit to Orlando, Brooklyn to Houston". This small gem, complete with black and white photographs, captures the wit and wisdom of barbers and their patrons, including a very select few women barbers who wield their scissors on this sacred turf.

Albert Ghee, Jr., a customer, talks about Shorty, a midget with a shoe shine stand, who worked in the back of his uncle's barbershop in Farmville, Virginia. If you gave Shorty an extra dollar, he'd thump out tunes with his rag as he polished your shoes, "The Star Spangled Banner" or "Amazing Grace." But Albert never enjoyed Shorty's unique rhythms until he was thirteen-years old; boys had to be teenagers before they were allowed to partake of the barbershop ambiance.

Wheeler Parker, a barbershop owner, has a cautionary tale to share, a hard lesson forced upon young men in his day, white men terrorizing in the middle of the night. Parker wants more for the younger generation after all the suffering, all the lost opportunities of his youth. He wants them to remember his cousin's name, Emmett Till. "He had a short life. Fourteen years. But if we remember, then it wasn't a wasted life."

Betty Reece was the only other woman besides Clara Poke and forty men in barber school. Betty was so painfully shy that one of her instructors said she was "so slow, she would miss the boat and the bus". Betty never did overcome her shyness and sat all day waiting for customers, lacking the effusiveness to gather regular clients. Sometimes she never had a single customer: "Felt like I was watching hair grow." She quit the business but still has her license and may go back to barbering one day.

Omar Rasul is a barber who enjoys the camaraderie of the shop, always up for a few laughs, which he considers good therapy. He favors "cut down" sessions, where "you target a person's flaw and roll with it. It's all about making people bust out laughing." On the other hand, the Reverend John C. McClurkin, a customer, likens the barbershop to the dinner table, a forum for family members to share stories and fellowship. The shop enjoys a similar dynamic, "except nobody's trying to hide their vegetables".

There are a few barbershop rules: "comments must both entertain and enlighten, proverbs need punch lines and comedy needs a dose of the profound". This thoughtful and humorous collection offers a peek into the rarified world of the black barbershop, still as popular today as when it first began. There's a sound you can hear above the clip and buzz of scissors and clippers: "It's the easy hum of men among men." Luan Gaines/2005.

Cuttin' Up: Wit and Wisdom from Black Barber Shops is definitely a coffee table book for the men of the house. You'll enjoy the contents of this book!

I've been admiring this book from afar for a long time now and finally bought it recently. My only regret is that I did not buy it sooner. When I received the book it was a one day read for me. I actually learned a lot from reading this collection of memoirs. By far, the most amazing story in this book was that of a certain Barber who was the cousin of Emmitt Till (We all know who that is). That story, by itself, is worth the price of this book. And, he even supplied a pic of him and Emmitt when they were very young to back the story up. This is one of those writes that reminds you how important The Barbershop, that we tend to take for granted, is in the community. I appreciated this book very much and would recommend this to anyone interested in getting a more in depth look at the world of barbering. So, please buy this very interesting book, If not or yourself, purchase it for someone else.

I laughed, cried and had lots of memories flood my spirit as I read this book. I could relate to almost every story or at least enjoy the message and the storytellers.
I highly recommend this book for those who would like to go back to memory lane

the Barber Shop is the true Black CNN. go there&no matter what the topic you gonna get a Answer. you are gonna hear some of the Best Jokes&story Tellers that will have you ribs hurting. the Barber Shop is a School all unto itself.I ain't even got into the styles the Barbers will hook your Dome up with.everybody has there Favorite Barber as well.Sports,Music,Politics,Society issues,Enviroment Issues,Relationships,etc.... you get it all there&More.