Category Archives: literature
And Still We Rise!: Amanda Gorman and the People’s Inauguration
Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate, read her “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, Dr. Joseph Biden, Wednesday, January 20, 2021 Now 22-years-old, West LA raised Gorman was named Youth Poet … Continue reading
Nnedi Okorafor’s “Mother in Invention” and the Power of Woman
*Illustration by Shyama Golden I have recently found two short stories that brought back some hard memories. They were both cathartic, gifting me with the ability to remember and, with a renewed conviction, reject the stories that I was told … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, artwork, black women, culture, literature, posters, review, Speculative Fiction, Writer
Tagged Mother of Invention, Nnedi Okorafor, review, short story, Winds of Harmattan
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Young, Gifted, Black: Destinies Fulfilled
I don’t know about you, but with everything going on, especially these past few months, I’ve been thinking about death…a lot. Not really in a morbid sense, but rather, as a way of reflecting on the importance of living well … Continue reading
Posted in African-American, black women, film, literature, review, Writer
Tagged Chadwick Boseman, Lorraine Hansberry, Young Gifted and Black
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Review of James McBride’s Deacon King Kong
A few weeks ago I watched a brilliant panel discussion entitled “Black American Buddhists on Community and Activism.” The panel featured three African American Buddhist practitioners and teachers, two with whom I was familiar: Kamilah Majied and DaRa Williams. When … Continue reading
Posted in African-American, culture, literature, review, Writer
Tagged Deacon King Kong, James McBride, review
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Review of Ayobami Adebayo’s Stay With Me
Ayobami Adebayo’s Stay With Me (2017) has gotten lots of positive press. It was a New York Times Notable Book, The New York Times’ Critics’ Top Books of the Year, was named a Best Book of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle, National Public … Continue reading
The Revolution Continues: Alligator Woods Now
In naming this blog Alligator Woods way back in 2009 I sought to uplift and share the revolutionary spirit that was alive in the enslaved men and women who declared liberty or death that fateful night in August 1791 in … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, African-American, Afro-Caribbean, culture, Haiti, history, literature
Tagged african diaspora, African-American, Haitian Revolution
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Toni Morrison Conference: March 19-21, Montpellier, France
Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon: Two Generations Later Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, Site St Charles Salle des colloques 1 Montpellier, France, March 19-21, 2020 https://tonimorrison.sciencesconf.org Thursday 19th March 9:00 Registration 9:30-9:40 Opening statements I.Textual/stylistic Analysis: Morrison’s Word-Work Chair: Monica … Continue reading
Review of Lesley Nneka Arimah’s What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky
I first learned of Lesley Nneka Arimah’s collection of short stories, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky (2017) from Levar Burton’s brilliant podcast, Levar Burton Reads. I loved that even though the story that he read—the … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, African-American, culture, literature, review, Speculative Fiction, Writer
Tagged black and brown feminism, black feminism, black women, black women writers, Lesley Nnekah Arimah, levar burton, levar burton reads, science fiction, Speculative Fiction, what it means when a man falls from the sky, writers
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Alligator Woods 