"This rich anthology will take your breath away." —The Advocate
"Skillfully unfolds the black queer voice." —Out Magazine
"This enormously powerful and expansive book covers the eras from 1900 to 2000 in dozens of entries that showcase writers who are household names, and others who aren't, as America experienced sea changes around gender, race, and sexual orientation." —The Urban News
"Black Like Us unlocks the closet of black lesbian, gay, and bisexual writing." —Keith Boykin, author of One More River to Cross
"A phenomenal pioneering anthology." —Ann Allen Shockley, author of Loving Her
"Black Like Us thoughtfully shapes and lovingly nurtures a literary tradition that has been marginalized for too long. An absorbing and enlightening encounter with compelling American literature." —John D'Emilio, author of Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin
"A vital achievement." — George Chauncey, author of Gay New York
"An exceptionally fine read and a rich resource for all of us." —Robert L. Allen, co-editor of Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America
"Black Like Us refuses to separate the histories and imaginations of Black America and Queer America. In so doing, it becomes a model for a more insightful and useful cultural discussion, one that has importance for all of American culture." —Joan Nestle, co-founder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, author of A Restricted Country and A Fragile Union
"This rich anthology will take your breath away." —The Advocate
"Skillfully unfolds the black queer voice." —Out Magazine
"This enormously powerful and expansive book covers the eras from 1900 to 2000 in dozens of entries that showcase writers who are household names, and others who aren't, as America experienced sea changes around gender, race, and sexual orientation." —The Urban News
"Black Like Us unlocks the closet of black lesbian, gay, and bisexual writing." —Keith Boykin, author of One More River to Cross
"A phenomenal pioneering anthology." —Ann Allen Shockley, author of Loving Her
"Black Like Us thoughtfully shapes and lovingly nurtures a literary tradition that has been marginalized for too long. An absorbing and enlightening encounter with compelling American literature." —John D'Emilio, author of Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin
"A vital achievement." — George Chauncey, author of Gay New York
"An exceptionally fine read and a rich resource for all of us." —Robert L. Allen, co-editor of Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America
"Black Like Us refuses to separate the histories and imaginations of Black America and Queer America. In so doing, it becomes a model for a more insightful and useful cultural discussion, one that has importance for all of American culture." —Joan Nestle, co-founder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, author of A Restricted Country and A Fragile Union
The editors of this fine paperback original Carbado (law and African American studies, UCLA), Dwight A. McBride (English and African American studies, Northwestern Univ.), and Donald Weise (Gore Vidal: Sexually Speaking) here offer an overview of 100 years of African American queer fiction that affirms rather than negates the interconnections among race, gender, and sexuality. All the usual names are here James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, April Sinclair, Alice Walker, etc. but the editors also do a great service in resurrecting lesser-known writers such as Owen Dodson. Whether the 36 authors are represented by a short story or by excerpts from their novels, the selections as a whole show them to be exemplars of "black queer writing." Additionally, each of the three main sections features a lengthy critical overview of queer writing from the eras covered (the Harlem Renaissance, the postwar period, and contemporary gay life), with brief biographical information preceding each piece. Although the editors make no claims for this being a definitive study, most readers will be pleased with the collection's impressive breadth. Highly recommended for all libraries as a complement to Shawn S. Ruff's Go the Way Your Blood Beats. Anthony J. Adam, A & M Univ. Lib., Prairie View, TX Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
