Unlike other recent collections of work by African American women, Carroll sets her anthology apart by putting excerpts by June Jordan, Gloria Naylor, Lorene Cary and others into context with short biographies and interviews that asks why they write, what they write, who they write for and who were their major influences. Unfortunately, the questions tend to elicit very similar answers from each author save Rita Dove, who discusses her feelings about being Poet Laureate. Most others say they have loved writing and reading since they were very young, they tend to write autobiographically-even when writing fiction-and most were influenced by the likes of Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison. More interesting are the intimate discussion of the excerpt included: Nikki Giovanni explains how early on she wanted to write for people who didn't have a voice, which lends some insight into her poem about the strength and continuity of African women, "Ego Tripping" from The Women and the Men. J. California Cooper describes her decision to portray the destructiveness of drugs using a female character in "Vanity" from The Matter Is Life. "It wasn't so much hard for me to write as it was hard for me to read. Consequently, I haven't read it but once."
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
YA?The 15 African American women writers interviewed here proclaim their artistic sisterhood, a force that is as disparate as their approaches to their work, excerpts of which accompany the interviews. Representing both established and ascending voices, this volume resounds with "the ties that bind." Newcomers Davida Adedjouma, Tina McElroy Ansa, and Gloria-Wade Gayles salute their famous sisters for paving the way and providing them with courage?Toni Morrison, Zora Neal Hurston, and Rita Dove. Reflecting on their craft, several writers attribute their ideas to the rich oral tradition of the black women in their childhoods, storytellers on the front porches who spun the threads of magic from everyday lives. A rich resource of ideas that will be of particular interest to serious YA female writers.?Margaret Nolan, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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