NEW YORK (AP) — The country has a new president and may well have a new literary star. In one of the inauguration’s most talked about moments, poet Amanda Gorman summoned images dire and triumphant Wednesday as she called out to the world “even as we grieved, we grew.” The
BOSTON (AP) — A major memorial honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King is moving forward in Boston, where they met and studied in the 1950s. King Boston, the privately funded organization coordinating the estimated $9.5 million project, said this week that fabrication of a roughly 22-foot-high bronze
Warning: Spoilers ahead. I was both stunned and pleasantly surprised when I learned that Pixar would be examining spiritual concepts in Soul. After watching the film twice, I still couldn’t believe what I was witnessing in a mainstream Disney movie! Astral projection, spirit guides, OBEs (Out of Body Experiences), and
NEW YORK (AP) — At age 22, poet Amanda Gorman, chosen to read at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, already has a history of writing for official occasions. “I have kind of stumbled upon this genre. It’s been something I find a lot of emotional reward in, writing something
Jesmyn Ward’s 2017 Award-winning novel Sing, Unburied, Sing has been on my radar for a few years now, and one of my resolutions was to tackle my extensive reading list. So although I’m a bit behind the times, here’s a story that is indeed evergreen. I found Sing, Unburied, Sing
ATLANTA (AP) — Stacey Abrams spent years crisscrossing Georgia, working to convince Democratic leaders, donors and prospective candidates that a vast, untapped well of potential voters could upend Republican domination in the state. There was no national media spotlight or constant praise from national political players to ease the
NEW YORK (AP) — Eric Jerome Dickey, the bestselling novelist who blended crime, romance and eroticism in “Sister, Sister,” “Waking With Enemies” and dozens of other stories about contemporary Black life, has died at age 59. Dickey’s publicist at Penguin Random House, Emily Canders, told The Associated Press that the
DETROIT (AP) — As a barrier-breaking year draws to a close, there’s one undeniable fact: the strength of Black political power. Black voters were a critical part of the coalition that clinched President-elect Joe Biden’s White House bid. The nation will swear in its first Black woman and first person
NEW YORK (AP) — Like many of those involved in the making of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” it’s not easy for Viola Davis to summarize what playwright August Wilson has meant to her except to answer, “Everything.” Davis’ first stage role was in Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” She
There have been a plethora of distinguished books throughout 2020 (view this year’s reading list here), allowing us to escape to different worlds as we grapple with a pandemic and multiple other crises. Now, we’re looking forward to unearthing even more gems in the forthcoming year, especially as multiple writers
