Today we are featuring one of the icons of the Harlem Renaissance, and one of the fathers of Black Literature, Langston Hughes. James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1901, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was a young child, and he was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen. He moved to Lincoln, Illinois with hi…

For this episode, we are featuring the work of yet another living master: award winning playwright and novelist J. California Cooper . After gaining notoriety as a playwright, Cooper turned her attention to novels and short stories; she has since published 13 books, including A Piece of Mine, Homemade Love, which was awarded the 1989 American Book …

Arthur Flowers is the author of two novels, 'Another Good Loving Blues' and 'De Mojo Blues'. He has also written a nonfiction memoir, 'Mojo Rising: Confessions of a 21st Century Conjureman' and other books. Flowers states that his work is focused on "the interplay between literature, mythwork and human destiny." He augments this work of creative pr…

When one thinks of books and thinks of Toni, we all know who comes to mind- our Nobel laureate, Pulitzer prize winning grand dame, Toni Morrison. Yet in the world of literature, there are two 'Tonis', and today we are focusing on the equally important Toni Cade Bambara. As with last weeks episode, our featured writer was brought up in the fertile c…

For our first podcast, we present James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues'. Born and raised in Harlem, James Baldwin's writing and his work on behalf of African Americans is known worldwide. His debut novel 'Go Tell It on the Mountain, and his powerful collections of non-fiction, 'Notes of A Native Son, 'Nobody Knows My Name' and 'The Fire Next Time, establ…