Black LIT Radio is a 10-minute radio segment about African American literature that came to life after I was interviewed about my book Living with Lynching on KAZI Book Review with Hopeton Hay. Once a month, I either have a conversation with Hopeton about a black-authored literary text or I interview an author who makes him/herself available. Many thanks to those who listen live when these are aired. As promised, I also provide the podcast link when they are available, but this is a good time to offer a cluster. Links below allow you to listen on-demand. ENJOY! And please let me know what you think in the comment section below or via email, Twitter, whatever. I would be happy to have your feedback on which literary works you'd like us to discuss in the future.
Segment #1 aired in October 2012: Nella Larsen's 1929 novel Passing
Segment #2 aired in November 2012: Interview with Tayari Jones about her award-winning 2011 novel Silver Sparrow
Segment #3 aired in December 2012: Leroi Jones/Amiri Baraka's 1964 play Dutchman
Segment #4 aired in January 2013: Interview with playwright Charles Smith, mostly about his recent award-winning offering Knock Me a Kiss
Segment #5 aired in February 2013: Toni Morrison's latest novel Home and other classic works
I am grateful for these conversations about this rich, living tradition!
Two more reviews of Living with Lynching have emerged.
In that stellar journal Signs, Sandy Alexandre offers a truly gratifying assessment. She recently published her own study of racial violence, The Properties of Violence, and it is very clear that she understands what it means to examine this material in ways that acknowledge the humanity and agency of targeted individuals, families, and communities.
Her review of reads, in part, "If ever a lynching book could be described as
beautiful, it would undoubtedly be Mitchell’s for the gracious way she
takes care to read, generously and meticulously, all that she sees and
hears (as well as what she does not see and hear) when she enters the
homes that these characters have struggled to build for themselves. The
beauty and persuasiveness of Living with Lynching lie also in its
clarity and its sense of conviction..." For more, please see the Spring 2013 issue of Signs, a publication of the University of Chicago Press.
The Drama Review (TDR) also includes of review by rising scholar Kristin Moriah. She says, for example, "Mitchell’s work is truly singular. Critical attention has rarely been turned towards the output of early African American women playwrights. Thus, Mitchell’s examination of embodied practices of black belonging as they relate to lynching dramas signifies a new line of critical inquiry." For more, please see the Spring 2013 issue of TDR, a publication of New York University and MIT.
