Street lit is controversial stuff. From the racy covers (think buxom babes and mouthwatering men) to the provocative titles (like Death Before Dishonor) to the assorted R-rated acts, it’s enough to make many librarians reach for the Advil. And they’re not the only ones.
Grad students in my young adult and children’s literature classes are also befuddled. “Is it OK for teens to read urban lit?” they often ask me. “What do we do when kids request those titles?” The answers to these questions are tricky. In fact, there are no absolutely right or wrong responses. There is, however, a clear need for librarians to resist the urge to judge this genre by its covers and to take time to explore its stories.
Even though street lit is a huge hit with today’s teens, you won’t find the semiautobiographical novels of Vickie Stringer and Nikki Turner, the grandes dames of urban fiction, on many (if any) high school reading lists or, for that matter, on some public libraries’ shelves. That’s because street lit (aka urban or ghetto lit) can be uncompromising, brutal, and direct—and its stories are often loaded with references to hip-hop and gangsta rap (which, like street lit, often walks a fine line between social criticism and profanity). Like the best-selling novels of Danielle Steele, Mary Higgins Clark, and Dean Koontz, street lit features its share of steamy and adrenaline-pumping scenes. But urban fiction focuses on the struggles of mostly young black men and women whose lives have been touched by crime and violence, and its tales take place on the pavements of Chicago; Queens, NY; Richmond, VA; Newark, NJ; and other urban centers.
The most troubling thing about street lit isn’t necessarily its graphic descriptions of sex, violence, and drugs or its occasional fondness for gangsta rap’s explicit language or even that it seemingly glamorizes thug life. No, what many librarians may wince at is the uneven quality of its content. Since most urban lit was originally offered by small independent presses (and sold from street carts, sidewalk tables, car trunks, and mom-and-pop shops), some of its stories read more like first drafts than polished manuscripts, and it’s not uncommon for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors to permeate its pages. Still, when it comes to high-octane storytelling, unforgettable characters, and sheer teen appeal, there’s no denying that urban fiction is a tough ticket to beat. Continue…
