Improvise in the Amen Corner by Larnell Custis Butler – Review & Giveaway

23. May 2008 · 49 comments · Categories: African American Literature, Book Review and Giveaway · Tags: ,


I strive to share unique books with you and this time there’s no doubt I’m about to succeed. Improvise in the Amen Corner is a book of poetry and art unlike any you’ve ever seen. Larnell Custis Butler writes her prose about the African American community in her church, her town, her family. Each poem tells about one fascinating character coupled with a portrait drawn by the author. The portraits are unique in that they have been drawn using sticks and twigs which the author collects from the park across the street from her Virginia home. She sharpens each stick and dips them in India ink, creating shadows with wet paper towel. Don’t let the process fool you–these are works with plenty of artistic merit, and the media she uses lends just the right effect to her poetry. I’d happily hang one on my wall. Even the font is creative, based on Larnell Custis Butler’s own handwriting, giving you the sense you’re reading her own personal notebooks.

The people in Larnell’s life are not wealthy; they struggle to make ends meet, and some of them do that with grace while others take the wrong path, only adding pain to their already difficult lives. This is not to say the poetry is depressing, not by any means. Throughout the book, readers will gain a feeling of hope and community. One gets an intimate and unique glimpse into Larnell Custis Butler’s world. As for me, I’d love to sit myself down in The Amen Corner and get to know the people better.

I have one copy of Improvise in the Amen Corner to give away. Enter by midnight EST, May 27th, 2008. 

Take a peek here at Improvise in the Amen Corner and its artwork. 

1.) Leave a comment telling me what interests you about the book. (Something more than “sounds good” is kindly suggested.) Or tell me something inspiring or interesting about your community.

2.) Subscribers are automatically entered into this and all future giveaways. Just enter your email address in the little white box on the upper part of the right hand column. (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you don’t receive it, check your junk mail.)

3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back.

Do all three, and you’ve got three entries to win!

The Logan Topographies by Alena Hairston

12. May 2008 · Comments Off · Categories: Book Reviews, Interviews · Tags: ,


If you’re searching for a book of poetry that is both beautiful to read and expanding to the mind, The Logan Topographies delivers on both counts. In a rhythmical and flowing voice, this poetry collection describes a West Virginian mining town and the difficulties to the ethnic groups who make their living in coal mining. Alena Hairston’s debut poetry book, divided into four distinct sections, reflects the devastating effects the evolving coal industry has on both the environment and the people of Logan.

With such a long and difficult history behind it, I wanted to know more about The Logan Topographies, so I asked author Alena Hairston a few questions about her award-winning work (winner 2006 Lexi Rudnitsky Poetry Prize):

(e): Your poetry has a unique and worthy theme. Can you tell us a little more about that?

AH: Presently, West Virginia and other Appalachian states such as Kentucky, Virginia, and Ohio are suffering and struggling against government/corporate-sanctioned mountaintop removal schemes (the latest, most disastrous form of mining) that are a total insult to the integrity of the communities and environments in which the mines are located. Much has been said about this issue (though, to my mind, not enough). A recent interview between Amy Goodman, co-anchor of the excellent “Democracy Now,” and Ed Wiley, a West Virginian activist, gives a poignant overview of the issue. The link is here:

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/29/west_virginia_grandfather_takes_on_the

The city of Logan has been impacted by this process and by the historical rapaciousness of the coal mining industry in general. This history explains the nature of the people, their beauty, poverty, frailties, and so on. While I am not a native Loganian, I lived there during my formative years (13-17) and was greatly influenced by the culture.
While my book does not seek to necessarily speak for this history or to completely fictionalize it, I did intend for the complexities of the area, its history and culture, to undergird the various stories within the book. West Viriginia has a mythic aura and I wanted the poems to represent this by virture of the themes, technical strategies, and overall approach of the book.

(e): I love the rhythm of your writing. Do you have to do a lot of rewrites to achieve that, or is it something that comes naturally?

AH: Thank you. No. I don’t do much rewriting. But I wait sometimes. The rhythm is “natural” I think. I like the mathematics of the line, the constriction of the page layout, syllabics, meter. I believe that I am both consciously and unconsciously “aware” of this as I write, even in notes.

(e): That’s a rare talent. I often find the most flowing writing has gone through many rewrites to appear effortless. I think you just made a lot of writers jealous! Are you working on any new projects that we can keep an eye out for?

AH: Yes! But, if I just didn’t have to work work. I am trying to finish a poetic novel — a novel in poems or poem-like vignettes. And I’d like to finish a screenplay. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and so the cost of living is quite steep. Teaching tends to keep me from writing. But, soon, I’ve a month long break, and I plan to write all day every day.

(e): Thanks, Alena! Keep us posted on your new work. I’d love to read it when it comes out.