Sponsored by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
“Jane Kirkpatrick at her finest, bringing to life a real woman from history, someone who wrestles with issues that are startlingly contemporary. Fair warning: once you begin this compelling tale, you won’t be able to put it down.” —Susan J. Tweit, author
Classically trained pianist and singer Natalie Curtis can’t seem to recapture the joy music once brought her. In 1902, her brother invites her to join him in the West to search for healing. What she finds are songs she’d never before encountered—the haunting melodies, rhythms, and stories of Native Americans. Based on a true story.
Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.
I said goodbye to the latest test prep class I was teaching this past weekend. In the last discussion we had before actually starting class, I asked them what career fields they wanted to go into. It’s a basic enough icebreaker type of question, but one I hadn’t asked yet—I had always focused on the fun stuff like their favorite video games and food, naturally.
As before, their answers were so interesting. There was a range of interests. One student wanted to continue her love of dancing while also working in law. Another wanted to go into music, and a third wanted to be a dentist with a café. I love how they all already knew what they wanted to do and were willing to step outside the box and do things that interested them.
This was one of the funnest groups I’ve had, and I’ll really miss them. In my final go-forth-and-prosper spiel to them, I told them to be proud of what they had accomplished so far and to go easy on themselves as standardized tests were never meant for us— as in people of color or non-rich people— to do well on. Afterwards, one of them said I was a G and a real one. Excuse me while I cry thug tears.
Now, let’s get to the club!
Nibbles and Sips
Today I present to you vegan lomo saltado. It doesn’t have to be vegan, that’s just the way Alexis Marie Montoya of The Bronx Vegan prepared them. Feel free to use the usual steak in this Peruvian dish, especially since Alexis said the fake steak wasn’t exactly cutting it. Here’s another non-vegan recipe by Tasty.
Now, let’s get to the books!
Poets as Novelists
Poetry requires such an acute command of language that makes poets excellent novelists. I’ve heard of poets’ prose being likened to having a Midas touch as far as their ability to construct sentences goes. Below are a few novels by poets for you and your book clubs to see for yourselves.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
A son writes a letter to a mother that can’t read. He writes of the details that make him different —a generational curse of abuse, life in Vietnam before immigrating, and an alienating otherness— building up the stories of himself until a great revelation. When You’re done with this novel, consider Vuong’s 2016 book much lauded book of poetry, Night Sky with Exit Wounds (or even read the poetry first).
Memorial Drive by Natasha Tretheway
At nineteen, as Tretheway set out to start her life, her mother’s was brutally ended. An abusive former stepfather first tried to kill her mother and was imprisoned. Once he was released, he tried again and succeeded. Tretheway examines all of her life leading up to that fateful moment, including recounting her happy childhood in the south as a child of a Black mother and white father, and traveling back to the place her mother was killed. With poetic precision, she reopens old wounds and wades through her grief. Tretheway won a Pulitzer for Native Guard and was appointed the United States Poet Laureate in 2012.
How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith
Smith takes the history of slavery and shows us where it exists in the physical. He does this by bridging the gap between historical fact and what some feel is present day relevance. He passes through Monticello, Angola Prison, and more, showing how each place tells of their involvement in slavery. In addition to being a poet, Smith is a staff writer for the Atlantic. His collection of poetry, Counting Descent, won a Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Award.
Book Club Bonus: Select a few poems of the authors’ to discuss alongside their novels.
Suggestion Section
For Banned Book Week, Te-Nehisi Coates shares his thoughts on recent book bannings.
The Tragedy of Macbeth, starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDorman, is out in December.
Rioter Kelly Jensen writes about libraries, accessibility, and ebooks here.
I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_ . You can also catch me choppin’ it up with Kelly Jensen on the Hey YA podcast every couple of weeks.
Until next week.
-E