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The Black Literary Imagination Examining African Americans' Connection to the Written Word
Special Series

The Black Literary Imagination

Snapshot: Authors' Favorite Authors

News & Notes closes its month-long series on the black literary imagination with a special snapshot. We asked several of our guests to share some of their favorite books and childhood reading memories.

Snapshot: Authors' Favorite Authors

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Inside Black Book Clubs

Book clubs are so popular these days that you could probably find a book club for just about every kind of book and every kind of reader. Continuing our series on the black literary imagination, we explore the growth of African-American book clubs.

Inside Black Book Clubs

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Becoming a Writer

News & Notes continues its series on the black literary imagination with a look at what it takes to become a writer. Farai Chideya talks with Randall Kenan, author of The Fire This Time; Kecia Lynn, a graduate of The University of Iowa's Writers Workshop; and Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Alan McPherson.

Becoming a Writer

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The Art of the Memoir

Three memoir authors join Farai Chideya to talk about the craft of writing your own story. Dominick Carter is author of No Momma's Boy. Kym Ragusa memoir is titled The Skin Between Us, and Thulani Davis put her family history down in My Confederate Kinfolk.

The Art of the Memoir

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Beating the Odds, Book by Book

CBS correspondent Byron Pitts — now an award-winning journalist — did not start learning to read until he was 12 years old. Our black literary imagination series resumes with a discussion of blacks and illiteracy.

Beating the Odds, Book by Book

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Grappling With Realities of Illiteracy

In some parts of America, as much as 50 percent of adults can't read. Rochelle Ford lives in a section of Washington, D.C., where half the adults are illiterate. Peter Waite, director of Pro Literacy America, explains the special challenges in educating adults.

Grappling With Realities of Illiteracy

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Black Science Fiction and Fantasy

Our look at the African-American literary imagination continues with a trip into the outer limits of genre writing — science fiction, fantasy and horror — and the unique challenges faced by black writers of speculative fiction.

Black Science Fiction and Fantasy

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Black Characters Fill Roles in Children's Books

Children's books written to include black characters have become easier to find in recent years. But have they really gone mainstream? And what does it mean to write a culturally specific children's book?

Black Characters Fill Roles in Children's Books

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Social Consciousness in Black Literature

News & Notes' series on the black literary imagination continues with a look at socially conscious writing. Three accomplished authors talk about infusing the written word with issues of politics and social justice.

Social Consciousness in Black Literature

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