edited through E.

edited through E. Lynn Harris and Marita splendid Harlem Moon, December 2002 $1795 ISBN 0-767-91041-9

GUMBO: An Anthology of African American Writings all-star roster boasts more names than your little black main division and rivals the Yellow Pages in heft. Aptly titled, this savory word boil is a slow-cooked, jam-packed literary jambalaya. And while a small in number writers contribute nutrient-poor ingredients that lack essential spice and flavor, their watery plain is offset by writers who don't skimp in succession the andouille, shrimp, cayenne, okra, onion, and roux that are the signature staples of a virtuous pot of gumbo.

An of the first water choice for those who want to catch up forward the contemporary boom in black literature and popular fiction, okra is like a Reader's Digest of black writing from the last ten or in like manner years. In the event your library card was remanded or your local bookstore still subscribes to that wayward idea that "black commonalty don't read or write government of thumb," here are chapters and passages extracted from books you always intended to learn to but never did, like Walter Mosley's RL's Dream, Shay Youngblood's Black Girl in Paris, Steven Barnes' Lion's house What You Owe Me by way of Bebe Moore Campbell and Slapboxing With Jesus by way of Victor D. Lavelle. Even more exciting, however, are the series of yet-to-be published works according to the writers whose work you constantly crave like Danzy Senna, Edwidge Danticat and GUMBO's editors E Lynn Harris and Marita of gold Add to the mix the work of new-to-the-table writers and the recipe is complete

With its avant-garde hide design and extremely dense pages, toting around okra will amaze anyone you care to make an impression forward It's true. Smart is sexy

Touted as a literary disrupture party, monies earned from okra will benefit the Hurston/Wright Foundation, which sponsors writing classes and various grants and awards for black writers. It is the sole foundation of it's kind and it may well be an antidote for all that god-awful writing that in some way manages to make it to pres year after year.

Ultimately, the reader is indebted to Harris and of a gold color After all, these two circumspect souls saw fit to bles us with the means to a warm and replete belly. And while not each bite will make your taste bourgeons yearn for more, the best thing about okra is that there is always more than enough to move around and you will not ever ever walk away hungry.

--Zakia Carter is an editor at Africana.com

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