Oprah Winfrey--A Sponsor of Black Artistic Culture

[By Kenton Rambsy]

Oprah Winfrey’s role in expanding the readership of African American literature and promoting the work of black novelists serves as a point of entry for better understanding how well-known and lesser-known writers gain exposure to commercial audiences.

VoiceThread: The Color Purple

[By Kenton Rambsy]

The visual reception and relationship between a particular book cover and the content of that novel plays a significant role in how larger audience regard the social context of a particular work. Specifically, Alice Walker’s 1982 novel The Color Purple has been a film, a radio broadcast mini-series in Britain as well as a Broadway musical. Certainly, the various iterations of The Color Purple as a novel covers and movie create distinct impressions about the work and Walker.

Break It Down: Apex Hides the Hurt

“Break It Down” is a HBW Literary Blog initiative that strives to offer critical interpretations of song lyrics, excerpts from novels, and poems.

This week, an excerpt from Apex Hides The Hurt, a novel written by Colson Whitehead, was analyzed. The excerpt comes from Chapter 2.

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Break It Down: Go Tell It on the Mountain

“Break It Down” is a HBW Literary Blog initiative that strives to offer critical interpretations of song lyrics, excerpts from novels, and poems.

This week, an excerpt from Go Tell It on the Mountain, a novel written by James Baldwin, was analyzed by Kenton Rambsy. The excerpt comes from Chapter 1.

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Break It Down: Invisible Man

“Break It Down” is a HBW Literary Blog initiative that strives to offer critical interpretations of song lyrics, excerpts from novels, and poems.

This week, an excerpt from Invisible Man, a novel written by Ralph Ellison, was analyzed by Kenton Rambsy. The excerpt comes from epilogue.

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Break It Down: Song of Solomon

“Break It Down” is a HBW Literary Blog initiative that strives to offer critical interpretations of song lyrics, excerpts from novels, and poems.

This week, an excerpt from Song of Solomon, a novel written by Toni Morrison, was analyzed by blog contributor Kenton Rambsy. The excerpt comes from Chapter 1.

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