Street lit
Subtitle: representing the urban landscape
By: edited by Keenan Norris ; [foreword by Omar Tyree]
Publisher: Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 214
ISBN-13: 9780810892620; 9780810892637
Subjects: African Americans in literature; African American authors; Street literature; City and town life in literature; History and criticism; American literature; Cities and towns in literature
Description: "In Street Lit: Representing the Urban Landscape, Keenan Norris has assembled a varied collection of articles, essays, interviews, and poems that capture the spirit of urban fiction and nonfiction produced from the 1950s through the present day. Providing both critical analyses and personal insights, these works explore the street lit phenomenon to help readers understand how and why this once underground genre has become such a vital force in contemporary literature. Interviews with literary icons David Bradley, Gerald Early, and Lynel Gardner are balanced with critical discussions of works by Goines, Jasper, Whitehead, and others. With an introduction by Norris that explores the roots of street lit, this collection defines the genre for today's readers and provides valuable insights into a cultural force that is fast becoming as important to the American literary scene as hip-hop is to music. Featuring a foreword by bestselling novelist Omar Tyree (Flyy Girl) and comprised of works by scholars, established authors, and new voices, Street Lit will inspire any reader who wants to understand the significance of this sometimes controversial but unquestionably popular art form." -- Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-203) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: "street lit[erature] in America past and present" / by Keenan Norris; title: Street literature in America past and present. "What is African-American literature?"/ by Gerald Early; title: Gang wars: the academy vs. the streets / by Kemeshia Randle; title: Early street lit: 1950s-1970s. Whose mean streets?: Donald Goines, Iceberg Slim, and the black noir aesthetic / by Bonnie Rhee Andreyeyev; title: (Re)writing the "bad nigger" hero in Robert Beck's Pimp / by Dennis L. Winston; title: Philadelphia negroes, pseudo-sociology, South Street and the life narrative of Malcolm X / interview with David Bradley; title: Contemporary street lit: 1990s and 2000s. Saratoga Avenue / by Arisa White; title: The history, power and graffiti art of Brazilian hip-hop / by Jaqueline Lima Santos and Ana Lúcia Silva Souza; title: Ggun(n) / by Arisa White; title: Comparing the available female roles and the social contexts of Sula and The coldest winter ever / by Keenan Norris; title: In their own words: street lit, code-meshing, and linguistic diversity / by Nikia Chaney; title: Crucial churches / by Tristan Acker; title: The art of storytellin : hip hop music and its cousin, street lit / by Khalid White; title: Street literature: a contextualization, historiography and personal narrative / by Gerald Early; title: Enigmas / by Sterling Warner; title: Colson Whitehead's Zone one: post-apocalyptic zombies take over Manhattan in the age of nostalgia, despair, and consumption / by Kimberly Fain; title: The method, madness and marketing of street lit / by Latoya Peterson; title: A point west of Mount San Bernardino / by Juan Delgado; title: Stories we might as well tell / interview with Lynel Gardner.