MissDomino: Urban Fiction

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Twelve Points About Street Literature

Me on a good day

Over the last couple of years, I have become increasingly annoyed with some of my librarian peers, K-12 educators and members of academia. This state that I find myself in is a result of comments and attitudes about the genre of Street Literature, also known as Urban Fiction. If you have been following this blog since it's inception, I have discussed this genre heavily, i.e. definition, origins, popularity with teens etc. You can also view one of my popular presentations from 2013 on my slideshare account here:

Street Literature Collection Development for Middle/High School Readers

The following list has grown from 10 points to 12 in this year. My hope is I will have a solid 25 points about Street Literature that I can use to promote the genre and debate more effectively with. By no means am I an expert on this topic, I'm merely a librarian that has observed first hand how this genre has positively impacted the lives of marginalized otherwise forgotten youth of Chicago's inner city.

I am interested in feedback on what I have written, please feel free to leave a comment in the comment section of this blog. Just a fyi, I do not tolerate negative comments directed at others who wish to leave a comment. In other words, serving others tea on my blog is not tolerated - respect for other's opinion is celebrated. Peace, K.C.

Betcha didn't know!

Twelve Points About Street Literature

1. All stories have VALUE, regardless of the lens/perspective it's told from.

2. Who are any of us (librarians/reading specialists/educators) to say Street Literature is not a genre?

3. Urban Fiction is a genre and Street Literature is a sub-genre of Urban Fiction, both should be respected as such.

4. Street Literature is a genre that should be in all library collections for teens and adults. As should other books that celebrate various subjects and cultures.

5. To make excuses (I've heard many of them) not to include them is just plain sad and a disservice to your patrons.

6. Street Literature is a genre that should not be ignored by librarians. This genre has served as a catalyst to jump start reluctant readers to read more frequently.

7. Street Literature has provided a pipeline for readers of all ages to learn/understand communities unlike their own.

8. From my personal experience, many critics of Street Literature have not read one book within the genre or a body of work representing various authors and reading levels.

9. Many critics of Street Literature just don't understand it. Just think about it: What happens when we don't understand something....We reject it.

Street Literature Book Award Medal
Created by Dr. Vanessa Irvin

10. Many librarians have Young Adult Street Literature books within their collections, and are unaware of their genre classification.

11. Articles have been written about the success of the genre's authors - http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/ashley-jaquavis-coleman-profile/?_r=0

The Street Literature Book Award Medal has been created to celebrate books written each year within the genre - http://www.streetliterature.com/p/slbam.html

12. Urban Fiction/Street Literature is here to stay....deal with it.

"Street Lit. Writers Must Be Heard"

http://missdomino.blogspot.com/2014/08/street-lit-writers-must-be-heard.html

Another post that should be read is Amy Koester's blog post,

"Selection is Privilege"

http://showmelibrarian.blogspot.com/2015/02/selection-is-privilege.html

The Reader's Advisory Guide to Street Literature by Dr. Vanessa Irvin Morris

http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=3302

Growing Up Positive: An HIV/AIDS Awareness Film

This is an important film that should be played in high schools across the country. Writer/Director Yasmin Shiraz has produced 'Growing Up Positive: An HIV/AIDS Awareness Film' for teens. The movie is about two women, one black and one white, born HIV positive. The women share their experiences with school, dating, relationships and sex. The film also explores how race plays a part with HIV.

This film is currently screening at colleges and high schools for AIDS Awareness. Below is a trailer for the film that provides a brief view of the film's content. If you are interested in viewing the entire film, please contact Yasmin Shiraz at http://www.yasminshiraz.net.

I have personally been a fan of Shiraz's work with teens. I find her storytelling is conversational style wrapped with a authentic realism that teens today can relate to. My favorite book, 'Retaliation' was a favorite of Chicago Public Schools students who participated in the Mayor Daley's Book Club. The similarities between D.C. and Chicago teens was really eye opening. Now years later, I'm excited to learn that the sequel to "Accused" has been received well by audiences. Also, both books were selected as Top 10 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers by the American Library Association. I always wanted to know what happened to Ahmed and Tashera! Both books are highly recommended for late middle school and high school students.

In addition, my female students enjoy Shiraz's motivational books. "The Blueprint for my Girls" and "The Blueprint for my Girls in Love" are favorites and really 'speak' to their issues, questions and drama.

Coming Soon: A very overdue joint interview of author Yasmin Shiraz with blogger, Dr. Vanessa Irvin Morris. Stay tuned!

After reading Retaliation and observing the similarities between D.C. and Chicago teens, I knew that the students would enjoy reading the book. I was right. Coordinators from across the city emailed commenting how much their clubs enjoyed the story.

I was really excited to hear from Shiraz and learn that she has cleverly continued the story of Ahmed and Tashera in Accused. I don't want to give away key elements of the story so I have copied the synopsis from Shiraz's website for you to review. This book is a recommended read for late middle school students through high school. Stay tuned for an interview of Yasmin Shiraz in an upcoming blog post. - See more at: http://theaudaciouslibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/accused-by-yasmin-shiraz.html#sthash.wm03KX1F.dpuf

Street Lit Writers MUST Be Heard

I rarely post comments on articles, I just read them. NPR recently posted the story, "Hip-Hop in Print: Brooklyn Publisher Looks to 'Reverse Gentrify' Literature. The story featured Street Lit. writer, Albert 'Prodigy' Johnson and his drive to publish books that change lives. He said, "Writing lyrics, I pull from my real life," "A lot of negativity that goes on in my world, in my neighborhood, with my friends, negative things I had to deal with — I take that negative energy and instead of doing something bad with it, I put it into my music." You see, there are similarities between hip hop music and Street Lit, both are creative reflections of what the writers see and experience.

Author/Rapper Prodigy

It's great that writers within the genre are finally getting the press coverage they deserve. What irks me is the inability or in some cases stupidity of some who comment on these article comment threads. Yes, there I said it....now I feel better. I know some of you are saying to yourself, what do you expect K.C.? Those who commented can comment easily behind a computer....that's true. I don't know what got into me, but I had to speak my mind too. Below is the comment I posted earlier this morning. You may not agree, but the least thing you can do is respect my view. Heck, NPR may not even post it, but I will here.

*Please note, since I reference the test scores at my school, I penned these comments under my school's blog name, The Audacious Librarian.

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Below is the definition of Street Literature:

Contemporary Street Literature can be defined as a literary genre "where the stories, be they fiction or non-fiction, are consistently set in urban, inner-city enclaves. Street Literature of yesteryear and today, by and large, depicts tales about the daily lives of people living in lower income city neighborhoods. This characteristic spans historical timelines, varying cultural identifications, linguistic associations, and various format designations."
- The Readers' Advisory Guide to Street Literature, by Dr. Vanessa Irvin Morris, 2011, p. 2.

What people tend to forget is all stories have VALUE. Street Literature writers view life from a different lens which reflect their communities and life experiences. These writers represent of group of people/stories which have historically been ignored by publishing houses. Hence, this is why many of the writers began their careers 'self-publishing'. I believe the real reason why the discussion has turned negative on this comment thread is that the stories represent inner city America of which many of us escaped from. Remember, like other writers that pen stories for other genres, writers write what these see and experience. These stories make some of us uncomfortable and in some cases , many of us cannot relate to what it is like to live in these cities. My question to all of us is, 'Should the voices and stories of those left behind in inner city America be ignored?' I don't think so.

Public Enemy's Chuck D. said years ago, “Rap is black America's CNN.” Yes, there are similarities to rap music and Street Literature books. Serving as a Library Media Specialist in a inner city school

in Chicago, I understand my students love for this genre. I select books within the genre to meet students social and emotional needs. Moreover, these stories are life lessons that teach right from wrong and guide students in navigating life's challenges. For the last ten years, I have used this genre to engage my non-reading students to read consistently. The genre serves as a starting point out of the gate for these struggling readers. Once they become interested in reading, I introduce them to other genres with similar themes. What often happens is my students become avid readers of all genres. They continue to read Street Literature sometimes for class assignments and often times for their own leisure reading enjoyment. Reading scores have increased at my school since 2010 and the use of the Street Literature genre is one of the main contributors to this success.

The voice of inner city America as retold by Street Literature writers MUST be heard.

KC Boyd
The Audacious Librarian
http://theaudaciouslibrarian.blogspot.com

Source:
"Hip-Hop in Print: Brooklyn Publisher Looks to 'Reverse Gentrify' Literature.
by Baz Dreisinger
http://www.npr.org/2014/08/30/344046504/hip-hop-in-print-brooklyn-publisher-looks-to-reverse-gentrify-literature

The Readers' Advisory Guide to Street Literature, by Dr. Vanessa Irvin Morris, 2011, p. 2.