Scope and Contents

Audiovisual materials created for an exhibition on the rich tradition of African American storytelling, which is celebrated through videotaped interviews with professional writers telling compelling stories drawn from their own experiences and revealing how the world in which they live impacts their writing. A portion of the exhibition is devoted to African American children's literature and original art used in books for young readers. The exhibition showcases some of the most engaging writers on the scene today. They are Haitian-born novelist Edwidge Danticat whose current best seller, The Dew Breaker, explores the complex lives and conflicts of her native country. Other featured writers include: science fiction writers Samuel R. Delany and Octavia E. Butler; Valerie Boyd, author of the award-winning biography of Zora Neale Hurston; Washington poet Kenny Carroll; Charles Johnson, winner of the National Book Award for his novel Middle Passage; and Walter Dean Myers, who has built a sub-specialty in literature for children and young adults.