What I Know is Me: Black Girls Write About Their World [Paperback]

Natasha Tarpley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2007

Keeping it real, Black girls tell their own stories in their own style.

As a teen looking at the media depictions of other Black girls, Christen Satchelle realized that she couldn’t find any outlets that realistically captured her experiences and those of her peers. She was only seeing, in her words, “barely clad Black girls as attitude-laden hoochies, being all about the ‘bling’ and what a thug could do for them.” But she knew Black girls were more than that.
Working with award-winning adult writer Natasha Tarpley, Christen started to compile an anthology of short fiction, poems, and essays that would feature the many facets of Black girlhood. With contributors hailing from all over the United States and the African diaspora, these stories are honest and courageous, dealing with everything from racial identity to family, sex and relationships, body image, and spirituality. Highlights include “The Basket,” a lyrical essay set in Haiti, where the author remembers her grandmother; “A Letter to the System,” a fiery poem about a girl who refuses to be held down by the government’s chains; and “The Choice,” a short story that showcases a teen trying to decide if she’s going to become a music video ho in order to earn money for college.
There’s also a special section where Black women write words of inspiration for the younger generation. In What I Know Is Me, Black girls will finally see and hear themselves in their own voices, affirming and strengthening the journey they must make from being a girl to being a woman.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

"Many African American girls feel as if there's a limit on the outlets we can use to express ourselves," writes Satchelle, a college student, musician, and youth leader. Citing recent titles, such as Nina Shandler's Ophelia Speaks (1999), in which young women voiced their experiences of growing up, Satchelle says that she and her African American friends felt left out of the discussion. This book--"by black girls, for black girls"--is their response, and in chapters related to family, self-image, race, sex and love, faith, activism, and learned wisdom, Satchelle and other young contributors share their coming-of-age experiences and concerns. As in any anthology written by young people, the entries display a wide range of writing ability. But the voices, whether speaking in poems, raps, short fiction, or direct prose, will affect a wide audience with diverse, honest, insightful, and powerful experiences from across the continuums of class, race, and sexual preference. A timely, important addition to the increasing body of literature about what it means to grow up female in America today. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

Inspired by the bestselling teen anthology Ophelia Speaks, What I Know Is Me unifies the diverse experiences of black girls through short stories, essays, and poems. Compiled by an accomplished teenager, Christen James, with award-winning adult writer Natasha Tarpley, this moving collection is broken up into sections that highlight specific areas of black girlhood, including racial identity, family, sex and relationships, body image, neighborhoods, and spirituality.

With contributors hailing from all over the United States and the African diaspora, the stories resonate with honesty, revealing the courage each writer needed to tell her story. Highlights include "The Basket," a lyrical essay set in Haiti, where the author remembers her grandmother, a "basketwoman" merchant; "Hairstories in Two Parts," a dynamic poem that uses black hairstyles as a vehicle to explore other countries and pop culture; and "The Choice," a thoughtful short story that explores the dilemma faced by a beautiful, intellectually gifted teen when she has to decide if she's going to become a "music video ho" in order to earn money for college. There's also a special section where black female adults write words of inspiration for the younger generation.

In What I Know Is Me, black girls will see and hear themselves in their own voices, thereby affirming and strengthening the journey they must make from girlhood to womanhood.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harlem Moon (March 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767912144
• ISBN-13: 978-0767912143
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,496,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)