Get HipLibraries

and Gangsta Lit

Gangsta LitUrban Fiction

Hip Hop LitAfrican American Fiction

Street Lit

Ghetto Fiction

What is Urban Lit?Many names. Many manifestations.

One general aesthetic. •Inner-City Life

•Populated Predominately by Minorities.

•Lower Income Communities

•Gritty Realism

•Heavy Use of Urban Vernacular

What’s the Appeal?

Urban History Lesson

[T]he Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American

world, -- a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself

through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the

eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and

pity.

The Souls of Black Folks, W.E.B. DuBois

-1903

The 1970sIceberg Slim’s Pimp Novels

Pimp: The Story of My LifeAirtight Willie and Me: The Story of Six

Incredible Players Trick Baby: The Story of a White Negro

Black Power

Blaxploitation Films

The 1980s• Light on new literature, but heavy on

Hip hop.– Djing– Rapping– Graffiti– Bboying– Beatboxing

The 1990s and 21st Century• Reemergence of Urban Lit

• Unexpected Trend: Making money without the backing of the major publishing houses.

1994

1999

Re¢ipe for $u¢¢ess

•1 part Self Publication

•99,000,000,000,000 parts Guerilla Marketing

Follow the MoneyThe Story Now?

Success has forced major publishing houses to start their own Urban imprints.

Why Librarians Should Care• History of under-representation

– Remember: Not just point-of-view. Also intended audience.

• Plus recent changes in market.

• Suddenly, there is an underserved demographic that can benefit from services a library offers.

Criticism• Criticism from

African American authors and activists.

• Criticism from educators.

“Why aren’t we giving people better examples of literature?”

Responses to Criticism• But it usually has a moral. (People

really do get shot and go to jail.)

Responses to Criticism• Comparison to other genres now

considered tame: pulp fiction, bodice rippers.

More importantBoth the criticisms and the defenses are

irrelevant. Reading is a democratic process. People choose to read what speaks to them.

Our job is to provide access to materials that this previously unreached/unreachable demographic wants.

To Order or Not To Order?• Patrons Currently Served• Their tastes in literature • Look for those in the community that

are underserved by the library• Compare initial cost of materials to

potential circulation rates• Bringing books to someone who

would never before use the library

When ordering…• Don’t order anything you’re not

comfortable putting on the shelf• Look at the publisher• Look at the author• Is demand worth risk of poor quality?

When ordering…• Balanced Collection• Initially try a large variety of titles• Read Reviews!• Again if not comfortable with it don’t

buy it.

Informative Sites• http://www.urban-reviews.com/aa-upcoming.html• http://www.theurbanbooksource.com/main.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_fiction• http://books.aalbc.com/urbanstreet.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

List_of_African_American_writers• http://www.streetfiction.org

Major Publishers• Triple Crown Publications• Strebor Books • Kimani Press (imprint of HQN)• Urban Books (Urban Soul, Q-Boro, Urban

Christian)• Walk Worthy Press• Kensington Books (Urban Soul and

Dafina)• Most Major Publishers

Classic Authors• Iceberg Slim• Donald Goines• Ishmael Reed• Chester Himes• Sister Souljah

Key Authors • Sister Souljah• Donald Goines• Iceberg Slim• Zane• K’Wan• Teri Woods

YA Series• Drama High (series offered by

Kensington)• Perry Skky Jr Series (by Stephanie

Perry Moore)• Kimani Tru Series (by HQN)• Bluford High Series• Denim Diaries (by Darrien Lee)

Christian Authors• ReShonda Tate Billingsley • Victoria Christopher Murray • Michele Andrea Bowen • Pat G’Orge Walker • T.D. Jakes • Jacquelin Thomas • Vanessa Davis Griggs • Vanessa Miller

Safe Read Authors• E. Lynn Harris • Kimberla Lawson Roby • Virginia DeBerry • Walter Mosley • Connie Briscoe • J.J. Murray • Pearl Cleage • Terry McMillan

Mildly Explicit Authors• Nikki Turner• 50 Cent • Wahida Clark • Keisha Ervin • K'Wan • Teri Woods• Deja King• Miasha• Relentless Aaron

• Eric Jerome Dickey• Omar Tyree• Carl Weber• Mary Monroe • Treasure

Hernandez• Mark Anthony• Treasure Blue

Explicit authors• Zane• Noire• Chunichi• Kiki Swanson• Vickie Stringer• Allison Hobbs

Paperback Authors• Brenda Jackson• Rochelle Alers • Beverly Jenkins • Donna Hill

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QUESTIONS?