Black Lives Matter: Can anyone help me with literature recommendations?

[Didiusfalco]

As part of my job I've been asked to come up with a list of texts to purchase to enable students to have access to Black Literature, History, Politics. We have the more obvious stuff such as Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison but I'd love to hear some recommendations as I've realised how poor my knowledge is in this area. Thanks.

Also The Emporer's Babe also by Bernadine Evaristo. A verse novel about a black Nubian teenager in Roman Britian. For none fiction history, Black Tudors? I've ordered but not yet read.

The noughts and crosses trilogy by Malorie Blackman is brilliant. It’s young adult fiction aimed at teenagers, though I read it as an adult and loved it.

British literature:
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
Small Island by Andrea Levy (there are TV and theatre adaptations of this that are also excellent)
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams (chick lit but good on microaggressions)
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman (YA and a recent TV adaptation)
I've not read Ordinary People by Diana Evans but that's suppose to be good

Older books, what about A House for Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipaul? Or anything by Dumas just to remember that there were black people in Europe before the 1950s. And even older literature written by a white woman: Oroonoko by Aphra Benn.

N K Jemisin - How Long Til Black Future Month?

12 years a slave is amazing.

Would suggest adding anything by Chester Himes. He was quite a prolific writer who was great at catching the spirit of the times and place - 40' & 50's Harlem.

Trevor Noah’s autobiography Born a Crime is really interesting - about growing up mixed race in South Africa. It’s compelling and shocking.

I also enjoyed Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Queenie is a good British read - lighter than the above although I must say I was shocked by the sexual aggression the female characters were having to tolerate - maybe this is post-porn life today for twenty somethings . That’s by Candice Carty Williams.

Bit late to the party but just finished The Help. Not sure it’s exactly what you’re looking for, but a wonderful story nonetheless.

While I really loved The Help, I'd love even more to find out about literature about maid culture, Black maids etc. written by maids themselves or their relatives.

Bernadine Evaristo's previous novel Mr Loverman is also excellent.

People have recommended White Teeth up above but some of Zadie Smith's later novels are even better. Just finished Swing Time and it was incredible on race, sex and class. One of the best books I've read this year.

How about some Science Fiction? I really enjoyed Kindred by Octavia E Butler which involves time travel between 1970's California to 19th Century Maryland. It does contain a stark account of slavery and explores the complex familial relationships that arose during this time that have a continuing impact on Dana, the protaganist.

www.tlotlotsamaase.com/home Poet & sf author from Botswana

Keren Landsman - Israeli sf writer

Samit Basu - Indian sf writer

Someone on the 50 books list was talking about Ann Morgan who decided to read a book from every nation, there might be some ideas on her list: a year of reading the world.

Also, after getting annoyed at the lovely David Olusoga for not having enough women in Black and British I found out about Phillis Wheatley, the first black woman to be published in Britain. There's a Penguin Classics edition of her poems.

Don't know if this has been mentioned upthread but I have just sat and listened to Death Row Book Club on iplayer (Radio 4).

I plan to read the whole book, but as a 30 minute piece of radio it was very moving testimony. Made me want to write to an inmate.

I don't think anyone's mentioned Diana Evans yet. She is Nigerian-British and has written 3 very good novels set in multicultural London communities.

Mallory Blackman - Noughts and Crosses.

Andrea Levy's other novels, not just Small Island - all are very good. If you work at a UK state school or college you should be able to access the National Theatre Collection if you want to show your students the NT's excellent stage version of Small Island.

Sorry didn't read page 2 before posting that - all already mentioned!

Seconding Zadie Smith. If you want books with black characters specifically, I'd recommend White Teeth, On Beauty and Swing Time.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ntozake Shange (who has a very musical style) and Jackie Kay are boss too. For poetry, how about Grace Nichols or James Berry?

Marlon James - a brief history of seven killings is a novel about Jamaican politics and American 'involvement' in it. Set against the backdrop of Bob Marley's story.