Randolph Reads
In our first Randolph Reads! post of the new year, we celebrate Black History Month by recommending some notable works from six important Black authors, past and present.
Books that are available in Lipscomb Library are linked to the library catalog. (Sign-in with Randolph College username and password is required to view these links off-campus. Note that access to the library stacks is prohibited due to COVID-19 restrictions for the spring 2021 semester. For information about checking out books during this time, see: https://library.randolphcollege.edu/howto/checkoutbooks)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is most well-known for her poetry and autobiographies, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiographical work about her early life in the Deep South during the mid-20th century. This is the first in a series of seven autobiographical works Angelou wrote throughout her life.
Other notable works:
Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), James Baldwin
One of James Baldwin’s most famous works is his first novel, the semi-autobiographical Go Tell it On the Mountain. The book centers around a teenage boy growing up in 1930s Harlem and grappling with issues of religion, race, and family.
Other notable works:
Kindred (1979), Octavia Butler
Octavia Butler was an important contributor to the science fiction genre in the latter half of the 20th century. One of her most popular works to this day is Kindred (recently adapted into a graphic novel). The story is told from the perspective of a young woman in the 1970s who becomes increasingly involved via time travel in the lives of her pre-Civil War slave and slave-owning ancestors.
Other notable works:
Their Eyes were Watching God (1937), Zora Neale Hurston
“There are years that ask questions, and years that answer them.” It’s possible that most of the inspirational quotes you see in Instagram memes came from Zora Neale Hurston’s classic novel, Their Eyes were Watching God, a young Black woman’s coming of age story set in 1920s Florida.
Other notable works:
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance
Americanah (2013), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
In the best-selling novel Americanah, Nigerian-born author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells the story of a young Nigerian immigrant who travels to the United States to attend college and graduate school. The story explores her life in Nigeria and in the United States, as well as that of her teenage sweetheart and other friends who have migrated to the United States or the United Kingdom, and the people they encounter there. Check it out before the planned HBO adaptation is released, starring Lupita Nyong’o.
Other notable works:
The Underground Railroad (2016), Colson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead’s novel about the journey of two slaves escaping via the underground railroad (reimagined as an actual rail system) won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2017. The story’s protagonists move through each state on their way north, encountering different obstacles in each.
Other notable works: