Robin Miles
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What happens when you invite as many jazz musicians as you can to pose for a photo in 1950s Harlem? Playful verse and glorious artwork capture an iconic moment for American jazz. When Esquire magazine planned an issue to salute the American jazz scene in 1958, graphic designer Art Kane pitched a crazy idea: how about gathering a group of beloved jazz musicians and photographing them? He didn't own a good camera, didn't know if any musicians would...
82) The Fisher King
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In 1949, jazz pianist Sonny-Rhett Payne left New York for Paris, to be free from racism and his family's disapproval. Now Sonny's grandson has come to New York for a memorial concert. There, the 8-year-old begins to understand the forces that drove Sonny into exile. Paule Marshall is an award-winning author and distinguished professor of creative writing at New York University.
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From the age of four, award-winning writer Edwidge Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph as her "second father," when she was placed in his care after her parents left Haiti for America. And so she was both elated and saddened when, at twelve, she joined her parents and youngest brothers in New York City. As Edwidge made a life in a new country, adjusting to being far away from so many who she loved, she and her family continued to fear for the...
84) The Good House
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In The Good House, Due sets a story of ancient powers and modern retribution in a small Pacific Northwest town. When a young woman returns to her grandmother's empty mansion, she is pitted against demonic forces that have poisoned her family for generations.
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The true story of Phiona Mutesi-a teenage chess prodigy from the slums of Uganda.
One day in 2005 while searching for food, nine-year-old Ugandan Phiona Mutesi followed her brother to a dusty veranda where she met Robert Katende.
Katende, a war refugee turned missionary, had an improbable dream: to empower kids in the Katwe slum through chess-a game so foreign there is no word for it in their native language. Laying a chess-board in the dirt, Robert...
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With Soldier, world-renowned poet June Jordan presents a deeply personal memoir of her formative years in post-World War II Harlem, where she was raised the daughter of dirt-poor West Indian immigrants. June's first 12 years were at turns peaceful and tumultuous, sowing all the seeds of her later poetry.
87) The Polished Hoe
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Winner of both the Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, The Polished Hoe is acclaimed author Austin Clarke's masterpiece. On a Caribbean island in the 1950s, elderly Mary Gertrude Mathilda commits murder. As she explains herself to police, her story exposes the ugly underbelly of life on Caribbean plantations, with its slavery and brutality.
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In this engaging and provocative volume, Bell Hooks introduces a popular theory of feminism rooted in common sense and the wisdom of experience. Hers is a vision of a beloved community that appeals to all those committed to equality, mutual respect, and justice. hooks applies her critical analysis to the most contentious and challenging issues facing feminists today, including reproductive rights, violence, race, class, and work. With her customary...
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Irene Sabatini makes her celebrated debut with this powerful novel set against the tumultuous backdrop of Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe. Teenagers Lindiwe and Ian meet briefly after Ian is accused of a terrible crime. The friendship they begin endures many tests-and one devastating secret.
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A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Stacey Patton penned this moving memoir describing her tumultuous childhood growing up first in a state institution and then in a fractured foster family. She makes a strong case to illustrate how the brutal legacy of slavery continues to affect African-American families today.
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Two sisters are suddenly sent from their home in Brooklyn to Barbados to live with their grandmother, in this stunning debut novel This lyrical novel of community, betrayal, and love centers on an unforgettable matriarchal family in Barbados. Two sisters, ages ten and sixteen, are exiled from Brooklyn to Bird Hill in Barbados after their mother can no longer care for them. The young Phaedra and her older sister, Dionne, live for the summer of 1989...
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True Story of Courage and Compassion in a School Under Siege. As 870 children waited in fear, their elementary school rushed into lockdown mode. As the nation faced yet another Sandy Hook story of tragedy, one woman rewrote the ending. Yet the story doesn't start with those first steps Michael Hill took into that Atlanta elementary school. It starts with Antoinette Tuff, a woman who faced her own pain, hurt, and rejection, yet held onto grace, faith,...
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One hilarious Harlem family is on a mission to find the perfect way to celebrate their Papa's fortieth birthday while discovering more about their mysterious grandparents in this heartfelt romp and latest installment to the New York Times bestselling series, perfect for fans of the Penderwicks.
95) Beyond the Night
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In Marlo Schalesky's breathtaking tale of soulmates divided by tragedy and united by love, Maddie teeters between life and death. Her husband Paul begs her to remember their love, regain consciousness, and come home. She recalls pushing Paul away-just before their love found voice and just as her blindness stole her hopes and dreams. And then she remembers Paul's unselfish, undying love. "A gripping, tender love story with a poignant twist."-Susan...
96) Lucy
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The coming-of-age story of one of Jamaica Kincaid's most admired creations. Lucy, a teenage girl from the West Indies, comes to North America to work as an au pair for Lewis and Mariah and their four children. Lewis and Mariah are a thrice-blessed couple-handsome, rich, and seemingly happy. Yet, almost at once, Lucy begins to notice cracks in their beautiful façade. With mingled anger and compassion, Lucy scrutinizes the assumptions and verities...
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Set in Zimbabwe, Rutendo Tavengerwei's unforgettable novel offers a beautiful and honest look at adolescence, friendship, and the capacity for courage. For fifteen-year-old Shamiso, hope is nothing but a leap into darkness. Grief-stricken and confused after her father's mysterious death in a car crash, Shamiso moves with her mother from England to Zimbabwe in order to pick up the pieces-returning to an extended family and a world she hardly remembers....
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This collection is Jamaica Kincaid's earliest published writings: her inspired, lyrical short stories. These stories plunge the listener gently into another way of perceiving both the physical world and its elusive inhabitants. Her narrative is, by turns, naïvely whimsical and biblical in its assurance, and it speaks of what is partially remembered, partly divined. The memories often concern a childhood in the Caribbean-family, manners, and landscape-as...
99) The Green Shore
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An award-winning author of short fiction, Natalie Bakopoulos presents her debut novel, The Green Shore, which chronicles the lives of four family members trying to survive under Greece's military dictatorship in the late 1960s. Deep in the night on April 21, 1967, a group of colonels engineer a coup d'Etat, overthrowing the Greek government. In the midst of this chaotic upheaval, student Sophie, her mother Eleni, her uncle Mihalis, and her younger...
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The creator of the internationally popular, multiple award-winning blog MsAfropolitan applies an Africa-centered feminist sensibility to issues of racism and sexism, challenging our illusions about oppression and liberation and daring women to embrace their power.
Sensuous Knowledge is a collection of thought provoking essays that explore questions central to how we see ourselves, our history, and our world.
What does it mean to be oppressed? What...