Meeting Notes
Young Adult / African American Fiction
Young Adult / African American Fiction
Street Lit vs. Literary is a strange dichotomy in African American Fiction
History of the Genre
YA as we know it goes back to the 70s and 80s. There are many classic novels that have coming-of-age themes that predate this, but are still taught.
African American Fiction has its roots in black experience
1980s: Literary authors were popular: Sharon Draper, Walter Dean Myers, Jacqueline Woodson
“the Problem Novel”—about serious issues like abuse, drugs, mental problems. They are frequently depressing, realistic, gritty. They are often morality tales (Go Ask Alice)
YA fiction in the 1980s had very few black teen characters
Street Lit Resurgence
Mid-late 1990s—resurgence in adult publishing
Gritty voice, about scandal & crime
By and for African Americans
Large teen audience
Several teen street lit series:
Bluford High—school stories; lots of boy characters
Kimani Tru—romance
Drama High—school
Hotlanta—squeaky clean, two middle-class girls
White authors writing black characters:
Virginia Euwer Wolff
Chris Crutcher
E.R. Frank
Coretta Scott King Award is a good list to look up for RA questions about African American fiction for teens.
