By Angie Green and

Paula Shapiro

Hip-Hop Lit

Phat Lit

Gangsta Lit

Street Literature Raw, gritty urban stories set in the

violent, dangerous, familiar, and sometimes exhilarating landscape of the streets, featuring tough characters (often African American) and focusing on themes of interpersonal relationships and survival by any means necessary. (Honig, p. ix)

African American Literature Simply, writings by people of African descent living in the U.S.

Same feel as Hip-Hop Lyrics

Sensationalizes inner-city conditions

Gratuitous

Graphic

Not African American Literature

Settings Urban areas Street life

Characters Young adults Females in turmoil Males often are abusive, drug dealers, in jail

Plot Action is fast-paced Conflict driven

Themes Violence, death, drugs, sex, crime, etc.. Modern Cautionary Tales

Writing Styles

First Person

Street Slang and Hip-Hop Verbiage

Profanity

Authenticity

Write From Personal Knowledge

Paperback

Covers Similar to Rap Albums

Authentic tone, flavor, appeal connected to publishing history

Non-conformist attitudes with mainstream publishing

Whiteness

Middle/upper class aspirations

Market to own communities

Authors maintain creative control

Self-published

Independent publishers

Poorly edited

Began selling titles from the trunks of their cars

Reviews

August 4, 1918 – April 28, 1992

Robert Beck

December 15, 1936 – October 21, 1974

That credit you dead it, I know heads gettin' annoyed,

And knew all about a dope fiend before reading Donald Goines

-from 'Can I Live II' Reasonable Doubt (Jay-Z) [1999]

pseudonym: Al C. Clark

Began with two street-themed novels

Published by Simon & Schuster

Large-scale attention

Independent authors gain underground success

Not targeted to teens but they were reading it!

www.sistersouljah.com

April 21, 2011Chicago Public Library

400 State StreetChicago, IL 60605

6:00 pm

http://www.triplecrownpublications.com/theblog/

Vicki Stringer

http://www.teriwoodspublishing.com/site.html

Carl Weber

http://www.urbanbooks.net

Just Like Shakespeare… Similar themes of

love, sex, jealousy, betrayal, murder, and revenge

Meaningful

Reflection of experience

Identify with characters

Engage at safe distance

Entertainment

Risk-free thrills

Escape

Harry Potter phenomenon

Teens need books with which they can identify

Morals across all cultures

Appeals to “Picky” Readers

Confidence

Gateway for discussions

Reading = Bigger World

Read a Book

Blokhedz

Inappropriate Language and/or Sexual Content

Glorifies Sex, Drugs, and Crime

Exposed To Dangerous Ideas

May Emulate Language and Behaviors

Negative Portrayal of Women and GLBTs

Portrayal of African American Community

Reinforces Stereotypes

Literary Quality

Grammar/Spelling

Focuses on Plot

Shelving

Inclusive Collection

“Word on the Street Lit” – Library Journal

Urban Grit: A Guide to Street LitBy: Megan Honing

The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Street

LiteratureBy: Vanessa Irvin Morris

aka Ms. Dominohttp://missdomino.blogspot.comhttp://kcboyd.wikispaces.com

http://www.meganhonig.com

http://www.vanirvinmorris.com

Street Fiction www.streetfiction.org

Street Literature www.streetliterature.com

Phat Fiction Wiki www.phatfiction.wikispaces.com

Library Success Wiki http://libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Urban_Fiction/Street_Lit

ALA Wikihttp://wiki.ala.org/professionaltips/index.php/street_lit_collection_development_resources

KC Boyd (aka Ms. Domino) http://missdomino.blogspot.com