According to Sandy

The ambitious intentions of a playwright resulted in the impressive, and enjoyable, “August Wilson Century Cycle”. It consists of a play for every decade of the 20^th century and chronicles a part of the black experience in America.

One of his Pulitzer Prize winning plays, “The Piano Lesson”, returns to Broadway this Fall (it debuted in 1990).  There have been several revivals since its first production at the Yale Rep in 1987.

This is the 4^th play of the Century Cycle, taking place in  1936, and will star Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Brooks and John David Washington. It will be directed by a women for the first time, Latanya Richardson Jackson.

Using his great ear for dialogue, Wilson (1945 – 2005) was able to give us some insight into the daily life – both struggles and triumphs – of an assortment of universal characters to whom his   audience could easily relate.

An ambitious undertaking, but, his huge vision was realized and resulted in 2 Pulitzer Prizes and a Tony award. He accomplished a lot doing what he loved to do and perhaps more importantly, August Wilson left a powerful body of work that will be read and performed for years to come. Dreaming big has rewards of all kinds.

BTW, all 10 of August Wilson’s plays are collected in hard cover with a nice presentation box. Each has an introduction by an actor, director or writer familiar with his work.

In 2005, August Wilson completed the ten-play cycle:

• 1900s – Gem of the Ocean (2003)
• 1910s – Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1984)
• 1920s – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1982)
• 1930s – The Piano Lesson (1986) – Pulitzer Prize
• 1940s – Seven Guitars (1995)
• 1950s – Fences (1985) – Pulitzer Prize
• 1960s – Two Trains Running (1990)
• 1970s – Jitney (1982)
• 1980s – King Hedley II (2001)
• 1990s -Radio Golf (2005)

*The Piano Lesson, by August Wilson* 

~ Ethel Barrymore Theatre ~

Limited engagement

~~~~ *** ~~~~

“Those that stop their questioning at 75, 60, even 30, cut short their explorations and end up with permanently unfinished lives.” (From “Life Beyond Measure: Letter to My Great-Granddaughter”)

Mr Sidney Poitier, whom I considered a national treasure, has left us, 1/7/22 at age 94,  with great stories, great images and lots of pride and warm thoughts. He lived his life. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Grammy. He had success as an actor, director, author and perhaps more importantly, as a man.

Born in 1927 in the Bahamas, Mr. Poitier went to New York as a teen, taught himself to read and catapulted himself into an acting career- a movie star. Not an easy road, but he did it with humor, grace, determination and a never wavering belief in him self.

He condensed some of the life lessons learned into books, not just about his journey, but also about how to conduct himself in an often difficult  and complicated world.

“The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography”, 2000

“Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter” 2005

****^^^****

The annual event will be different this year. After 22 years of welcoming children and adults to their wide selections of events in person, the 2020 HBF will be “virtual”.

~ “HBF2020 will be live-streamed on Facebook Live, with simultaneous links to YouTube, Instagram Live, QBR.com, Harlembookfair.com, CAOTtv.com” 

~ “Multi-platform broadcasting: The Harlem Book Fair will be available where online readers go for their information. New readers; new audiences”

~ “Your favorite books, authors, and most compelling issues presented directly to your device.” 

22nd Annual Harlem Book Fair

Saturday, July 18, 2020

“The vision of the Harlem Book Fair is to partner with local
and national leadership organizations under the banner of literacy
awareness, affirming HBF as the nation’s largest African American
literary event celebrating family literacy, community empowerment,
and community cooperation.“

~ * ~

“Precious Ramotswe“ is Botswana‘s only female private investigator. The main character of the HBO series, now on DVD.

“Precious” is played by Grammy winner Jill Scott. Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose and Idris Elba from “The Wire” are also part of the great cast. As in the books, our bush tea drinking, lady sleuth tracks down wayward husbands, missing children and solves village mysteries all the while keeping to the traditions of her culture and maintaining the standards of both Queen Elizabeth and Nelson Mandela (she admires both).

There are 3 DVDs in the set and I enjoyed them all. “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency“ has charm and heart. Great fun.

Directed by the late Anthony Minghella, “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency “, was produced for the BBC in 2008 and then shown in the U.S. in 2009.  It is based on the popular book series by Alexander McCall Smith.

BTW: I noticed a few years back that Ms Ramotswe and the author’s name were listed week after week on the San Francisco/Bay area California paperback bestseller list. I discovered that the Botswana detective has a worldwide cult following.

Books in the series:
* 1998 .The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
* 2000 .Tears Of The Giraffe
* 2001 .Morality for Beautiful Girls
* 2002 .The Kalahari Typing School for Men
* 2004 .The Full Cupboard of Life
* 2004 .In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
* 2006 .Blue Shoes and Happiness
* 2007 .The Good Husband of Zebra Drive

(originally posted 6/9/17

(Originally posted in 2012)

I always get excited when Ms Morrison graces us with a new book. Just released this week, her latest is “Home”, which centers on a man’s two most life battering experiences – while a soldier during the Korean War and growing up in the South in the 50’s. 

Ms Morrison, now 81, has such a fantastical, spiritual approach to her characters and plot, but she’s also got “edge”. She can set a tone, paint a picture, capture identifiable feeling/emotion and describe events so clearly and with such poetry that it makes you laugh or, it makes you cry. There are some passages in her much acclaimed book “Beloved” that are so painful that your throat clutches and closes.  Her “truth”, cloaked in make believe, is sometimes difficult to handle – sort of a ground glass in the oatmeal type of thing. You feel it.

I think she is amazing and a real gift. “Home”, by Toni Morrison

FYI – “Beloved” won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and Ms Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.) 

The ambitious intentions of a playwright resulted in the impressive, and enjoyable, “August Wilson Century Cycle” box set. It consists of a play for every decade of the 20^th century that would chronicle some part of the black experience in America. 

Through the use of his great ear for dialogue, Wilson (1945 – 2005) was able to give us some insight into the daily life – both struggles and triumphs – of an assortment of universal characters that his audience could easily recognize.

An amazing undertaking, but, his huge vision was realized and it resulted in 2 Pulitzer Prizes, a Tony award and many other accolades. He accomplished a lot doing what he loved to do and perhaps more importantly, August Wilson left a powerful body of work that will be read and performed for years to come. Dreaming big has rewards of all kinds.

All 10 of August Wilson’s plays are collected in hard cover with a nice presentation box.  Each has an introduction by an actor, director or writer familiar with his work

In 2005, August Wilson completed the ten-play cycle:

• 1900s – Gem of the Ocean (2003)
• 1910s – Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1984)
• 1920s – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1982)
• 1930s – The Piano Lesson (1986) – Pulitzer Prize
• 1940s – Seven Guitars (1995)
• 1950s – Fences (1985) – Pulitzer Prize
• 1960s – Two Trains Running (1990)
• 1970s – Jitney (1982)
• 1980s – King Hedley II (2001)
• 1990s – Radio Golf (2005)

On Saturday July 21, 2018, the Harlem Book Fair is celebrating its 20^th anniversary with spoken word events, exhibit booths, music, panel discussions and children’s activities. It’s a great way to spend a Saturday in the city.

“The vision of the Harlem Book Fair is to partner with local and national leadership organizations under the banner of literacy awareness, affirming HBF as the nation’s largest African American literary event celebrating family literacy, community empowerment, and community cooperation. “

Harlem Book Fair

Saturday, July 21, 2018 * 10 AM – 6 PM

West 135th Street  (Betw. Malcolm X Boulevard &

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard) Harlem, NY

On Saturday, 7/15/17, there will be spoken word events, over 200 exhibit booths, music, panel discussions and children’s activities will be on hand at the Harlem Book Fair. It’s a great way to spend a Saturday in the city.

“The vision of the Harlem Book Fair is to partner with local
and national leadership organizations under the banner of literacy
awareness, affirming HBF as the nation’s largest African American
literary event celebrating family literacy, community empowerment,
and community cooperation. “

19^th Annual Harlem Book Fair

Saturday, July 15, 2017 – 10 AM – 6 PM

SCHOMBURG CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN BLACK CULTURE

515 Lenox Avenue, West 135th Street,, NYC

On July 16, 2016 there will be spoken word events, a forum for Caribbean writers, over 200 exhibit booths, music, panel discussions and children’s activities at the Harlem Book Fair. It’s a great way to spend a Saturday in the city.

“The vision of the Harlem Book Fair is to partner with local
and national leadership organizations under the banner of literacy
awareness, affirming HBF as the nation’s largest African American
literary event celebrating family literacy, community empowerment,
and community cooperation. “

18th Annual Harlem Book Fair

Saturday, July 16, 2016

SCHOMBURG CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN BLACK CULTURE

515 Lenox Avenue, West 135th Street,, NYC

Info:
Tel:914.231.6778 / Tel: 212.491.2200

LABBX, the Los Angeles Black Book Expo, returns on Saturday August 17, 2013. This free event, at the L.A. Convention Center,  will have “authors, storytellers, spoken word and poetry performances, musicians, exhibitors, children’s book authors, emerging writers, publishers, booksellers, panel discussions, editors, book reviewers…” all in support of having a glorious reading experience.

LABBX 2013

L.A.  Convention Center – Saturday August 17, 2013