Toni Morrison and Boy George Cover Billie Holiday

Morrison has proved to be the most thorough documentarian of African-American female existence in all its forms: in the womb, baby, child, girl, woman, senior, from the afterlife. The mantra of "God bless the child..." is actually her most consistent answer to black women. Enjoy Holiday's original version, as well as a neat cover by Boy George and Micah Paris.

Toni Morrison’s New Novel is Out.

From Goodreads: At the center: a woman who calls herself Bride, whose stunning blue-black skin is only one element of her beauty, her boldness and confidence, her success in life; but which caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love until she told a lie that ruined the life of an innocent woman, a lie whose reverberations refuse to diminish . . .

Kalisha’s story “Who Killed Her?” appears in Black Renaissance Noire.

Read an excerpt from Kalisha's story "Who Killed Her?" If you are in the New York area, RSVP to the Friday, May 1, Black Renaissance Noire 15.1 launch party at NYU.

I Miss E. Lynn Harris.

20 Years Later: This summer Harlem's famed Apollo Theatre will present the musical adaptation of E. Lynn Harris's debut novel, Invisible Life..

Have You Heard? Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Set in Rhodesia in the 1960's, Tsitsi Dangarembga's NERVOUS CONDITIONS (1988) is a classic novel enduring unto today for its memorable protagonist and strong statements about gender inequities of women, stolen educational access and resource gaps in a politically-charged nation.