Voices with a back story - Upcoming York Public Library Events

Authors have their own ideas of what makes a good story, but a common goal is to write what they know. Shannon Holmes has known some hard times and it shows in his novels, which are part of a quickly growing genre known as street lit.

These gritty stories feature characters that, on the surface, are seriously flawed, desperate, self-degrading and oftentimes, very violent.

“I like to paint my characters into a tight corner, just to see how they will react,” said Holmes, who lives in The Bronx, New York.
In April, Holmes will be one of several featured artists coming to the Martin Library as part of “Street Lit, Hip-Hop, Reading & Writing.” The week-long program will feature several of America’s most successful black authors, musicians, educators and entrepreneurs.

While the event, which will be held in conjunction with National Library Week, is sponsored by the library, some of the events will be hosted around town at places such as Crispus Attucks and the Yorktowne Hotel.

Since 2001, Holmes has released six books that deal with the harsh realities associated with lives lived on the streets. As in real life, Holmes expects that many will judge his fictitious characters harshly at first glance.

But unlike real life, readers will learn the background stories of the events and circumstances that make his characters the often dangerous and outcast people they are.

For a time, Holmes’ life was as corrupt as some of his characters. From 1995 to 2000, he spent time in jail for distributing drugs.

But in a serendipitous twist of fate, Holmes found his calling as an author behind bars.

“I was always a reader, but it was never my ambition to be a writer,” Holmes said. “But then I met a man in prison who had written three books and it changed my life.”

While Holmes said he doesn’t consider himself anyone’s academic superior, life has made him wise and savvy. And what he says he lacked in schoolbook smarts, he more than made up for in common sense.

So he set his pen to paper. At first, he said, he wrote to kill time. But within six months of his mandatory release, he had half a manuscript written. In a bold move, he asked one of the toughest inmates housed with him to read his work.

Like Holmes, this prisoner was an avid reader.

“Prison is a very negative environment,” Holmes said. “No one cares if you succeed at anything.”

The next morning, Holmes said the man he shared his work with told him he had a good thing going.

“He said, ‘I can see you getting a couple of dollars out of this,’” Holmes said.

That manuscript turned into his first book, “B-More Careful.” After its 2001 release, Holmes said it went on to sell more than 100,000 copies.

“And each book deal keeps getting bigger,” he said.

But Holmes said it is not his intent to tell people to write just for the sake of making lots of money. He said writing is a means for expressing what is in someone’s heart.

On the other hand, Holmes said reading the type of novels he writes is an opportunity to learn.

Readers of street lit get to see what sets in motion the attitudes and actions of those society may only get to know for a moment via some sensational headline in the evening news.

“Society passes judgments on drug dealers and prostitutes without knowing them,” Holmes said. “But for some, they just don’t see any other options.”

Lora-Lynn Rice, who is Martin Library’s director of information service, said over the past couple of years, York City readers cannot get enough of the genre.

“Some people connect to it like nothing else,” she said. “The stories portray an ugly side of life; but many times, they also lead to something very spiritual and uplifting.”

In addition to the library’s featured guests, there will also be educational forums and open mic nights.

“We believe the community is really going to connect with this event,” said Rice. “In the same way many of them are connecting to the genre like nothing else we’ve seen in some time.”

STREET LIT, HIP-HOP WEEK EVENTS

Following are events planned for Street Lit, Hip-Hop, Reading & Writing. All events are at Martin Library, 159 E. Market St., York, unless noted otherwise. Registration is required for all events. Call 840-7435, ext. 222. For details, visit www.yorklibraries.org/urban.htm.

Understanding the Hip-Hop Generation - 7 p.m. April 14, with Marc Lamont Hill, an assistant professor of Urban Education and American Studies at Temple University who has used hip-hop culture to improve literacy among high school students and dropouts.

Hip-Hop Culture and Our Community - 7 p.m. April 15. Local community leaders and students will hold a panel discussion.

Street Fiction: A Renaissance Genre for the Hip-Hop Generation with Vanessa Morris - 8:30 a.m.

April 16.

Your Voice contest - deadline is April 1 for teens to submit poetry, music lyrics or YouTube video. Winners will meet Shannon Holmes for dinner. See www.yorklibraries.org for details.

Open Mic Night - 7 p.m. April 16 at Crispus Attucks, 605 S. Duke St., York. High school artists and entertainers will have a chance to perform. The community choice winner will join winners of the Your Voice contest for dinner with Shannon Holmes at the Yorktowne.

Urban Fiction and Becoming a Writer - 7 p.m. April 17. Shannon Holmes will talk about becoming a writer while he was in prison.

Workshop with Shannon Holmes - 3 to 4:30 p.m. April 17. All high school students are invited to talk with author Shannon Holmes about becoming an author and his life experiences. Register at www.yorklibraries.org.

An evening with Omar Tyree - 7 p.m. April 18. Meet the best-selling author and listen to jazz by the Tim Warfield Trio. Tickets are free, but required.

Talk and book signing - 10 a.m. April 19. Omar Tyree will talk about his work and sign books.

Dwayne Betts, YoungMenRead - 1 p.m. April 19. Dwayne Betts also spent time in prison, but after he got out he started the YoungMenRead book club in Bowie, Md.

Source: York Daily Record

The Word on Street Lit No. 2 by Vanessa J. Morris (Library Journal article)

Appropriately for Women’s History Month, the following titles in this second installment of our new column—click here to read the first by Rollie Welch—focus on women’s stories, depicting the realities of inner-city life as experienced by African American women. What are the consequences of making split-second decisions driven by emotion, survival instincts, and desperation? What are the reasons for staying and surviving in the hood or chasing a dream of getting out and making a better life elsewhere? How do characters appreciate their womanhood in the midst of all the drama and uncertainty?

Street fiction came to the fore during the 1970s with the works of Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim. But the 1999 publication of Sister Souljah’s Coldest Winter Ever and Teri Woods’s True to the Game breathed new life into urban fiction, attracting female readers and writers to what had been a male-dominated genre. Souljah set the tone with her uncompromising tone and her frank depiction of the gritty realities faced by her protagonist. In successfully self-publishing her debut novel, Wood proved the efficacy and profitability of independent publishing. She also established the standard for fast-paced storytelling. Other notable female authors include Vicki Stringer, who founded Triple Crown Publications, the most popular and prolific publisher of street fiction; Nikki Turner; Keisha Ervin; and Tracy Brown.

Read More…

See Teri Woods, Shannon Holmes, Felicia Pearson, and Solomon Jones in Philadelphia

The Free Library of Philadelphia will be hosting a free panel discussion on Street Lit on Tuesday evening, December 4, 2007, 7:00 p.m. in the Montgomery Auditorium of the Central Library. For Info: 215-567-4341.

The panel will consist of:

• Teri Woods — bestselling author of True to the Game I and II, Dutch I, II, and III, and Deadly Reigns
• Shannon Holmes — author of B-More Careful, Bad Girls, and his latest, Dirty Game
• Felicia “Snoop” Pearson — cast member on “The Wire” — her memoir Grace After Midnight was published just this past August 2007
• Solomon Jones — author of Pipe Dreams, The Bridge, and Ride or Die

Moderator: Vanessa Morris — librarian educator and researcher of street lit readership amongst inner city teens in libraries.

Street Fiction and Teens

With all of the debate over street fiction inspired from the McMillan email, I was happy to read today the wise words of Vanessa Morris:

“These books engage readers and help promote literacy to an audience that normally would not turn to mainstream media,” said Morris. “Street lit helps empower teens as they learn the importance of self-expression and literacy.”

Here’s the full article:

Westchester Library System (WLS) and Westchester Literacy and Learning Alliance (WLLA) kicked off its second annual “Engaging All Kinds of Readers” series recently with a presentation by Vanessa Morris of the University of Pennsylvania on Where We Live: Becoming Literate about Our Own Lives.

The program was attended by over a dozen local librarians.

Ms. Morris addressed ways to optimize teen interest in “street lit” as a tool for making meaning of their own lives. She reviewed the evolution of hip hop music and the incorporation of its themes into a genre of literature that she calls “urban street fiction.” Once an underground movement, urban street fiction has crossed over to large publishers because of its popularity. Morris noted that urban street fiction addresses tough themes and helps teens escape from the poverty and environment of the ghetto. “These books engage readers and help promote literacy to an audience that normally would not turn to mainstream media,” said Morris. “Street lit helps empower teens as they learn the importance of self-expression and literacy.”

 Source

Two New Urban Fiction Books for Teens

I’m so glad that authors are starting to write urban fiction especially for teens. The urban fiction, or “street lit”, genre is a relatively new one, and one that interests me because so many of my students ask for it. Many of the gritty adult titles, though, have graphic sex, rough language, and other content that makes it difficult to defend for my middle school audience. But new street lit titles aimed specifically at teens make my job much easier — I can give students what they want — books with urban characters, dramatic problems, and authentic language — without getting into hot water.

K.C. Taylor is one such author of teen urban novels. She was kind enough to send me two of her books, Easier Without and Any Possible Outcome: A Book of Urban Tales. Both are published by GND Publishing.

Easier Without has two main characters — Cell, a homeless boy with a troubled past, and the privileged Myla, who nevertheless has problems of her own. The two teens fall for each other, but face challenges. Myla discovers that an old boyfriend is HIV positive, and that she may be infected. Cell must struggle to survive and take care of his twin sister, while dealing with his mother’s long-ago death and his incarcerated father’s criminal past. The story is fast-paced, and the writing has a feel that is very similar to that of adult urban fiction — sometimes less polished than more mainstream fiction, but always full of emotion and brimming with the drama readers crave. Though the characters deal with mature situations, the language is appropriate for teenagers. Readers will root for Myla and Cell as they struggle to overcome their problems and make their love last.

Any Possible Outcome: A Book of Urban Tales is a book of short stories. In one story, a boy regrets involving his younger brother in gang activity. In another, a new girl in school deals with middle school friendships and intrigue. Poems, instant messaging, diary entries, and lots of dialogue spice up the narration. I especially enjoyed “Minus 15″, a story from the point of view of a teenage boy describing his involvement in selling drugs and how he ended up in a correctional facility. His regrets are clear without becoming preachy.

I know both of these books will be a hit with my students, and I hope to see more titles for teens from K.C. Taylor and other writers in the future.

If you are interested in urban fiction or library service for teens, check out Miranda Doyle’s website, www.teenlibrarian.com.

Next Page »