Mark Anthony Neal interviews Claudia Milian about her new book, LATINING AMERICA, for Left of Black. In the interview, Milian addresses Mark Anthony Neal's question about the difference between "blackness, brownness, and dark brownness." Watch the engaging interview via The Root website here. The segment with Milian starts at 3:56.The Utne Reader has an excerpt from AMERICAN AFTERLIFE up on its website. Learn about memorial tattoos here.
The Island Packet features an interview with Andrea Feeser about her new book, RED, WHITE, AND BLACK MAKE BLUE. In the article, Feeser explains how she attempted to dye a garment using indigo:
Feeser conducted archival research in South Carolina and also traveled to England on a grant from Clemson to do research. She even enlisted the help of two of her colleagues to dye a garment the way slaves would have originally done.
"When we pulled it out of the vat it was a greenish-yellow color, but then as the oxygen made its way into the dye, it was absolutely gorgeous watching that transformation," Feeser said. In her book she writes that "watching the transformation is not unlike watching time-lapse photography of a flower blossoming: One thing becomes another slowly enough to mesmerize and quickly enough to thrill. In short, it seems magical.""The Junto: A Group Blog on Early American History" praises THE LARDER for offering a solid argument about food studies:
These essays do more than merely entertain; they challenge and encourage deep thinking about food. Early Americanists will be grateful that these pieces complement new work in food history, hopefully heralding longer contributions in the form of forthcoming books.THE DANCE BOOTS author Linda LeGarde Grover makes Indian Country Today's list of "worthy yet lesser-known American Indian female fiction writers.
Congratulations, Frank X Walker! The TURN ME LOOSE poet is one of five finalists for outstanding literary work--poetry for the 45th annual NAACP image awards. The winners will be announced February 21(non-televised categories) and 22 (televised categories). More information is available here.CHICKEN DREAMING CORN author Roy Hoffman recounts his dancing experiences from childhood to present day in a recent piece for the New York Times. The essay is available here.
