11th Reading: Solo reading together

Written By Sophia Senyo

For our 11th month of gathering, each member has chosen a book that they will read. And, each week each member will share their insights about their book and the author. We will share highlights from these discussions. We will share only a few of the books/members’ choices.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

  • “The Last of the African Kings” by Maryse Condé – Historical Fiction

  • "Beloved" by Toni Morrison – Fiction, Magical Realism

  • "I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings" by Maya Angelou - Autobiography

VIDEOS

WEEK ONE

PROMPTS

  • Prompt One: What is your book about so far?

  • Prompt Two: What are the insights you have taken away from your book so far?

  • Prompt Three: What have you learned about the author of your book?

DISCUSSION

  • Prompt One:

    • Reader reading - The Last of the African Kings by Maryse Condé: the book is about what happened to the descendants of an african king that was exiled to the islands during colonization and what happened to his children and grandchildren and what type of lives they lived in the islands and in the united states.

    • Reader reading - "Beloved" by Toni Morrison: The book is difficult to read and not easy to grasp from the beginning. The book is about how slaves were kept and the things they go through. And their daily life during slavery and after slavery. Particularly highlights the sexual and physical abuse that black women experienced from the slave owners. And it is about one specific family’s experience during slavery and their life after slavery. And the trauma and ghosts from what they had to do to survive during and after slavery. Particularly one grand tragedy where the mother killed one of her children to spare her from the life of slavery and the ghost of that child. The characters are Sethi the mother, and her daughter Denver, and Sethi’s sons, and Sethi’s mother-in-law (the grandmother) and the ghost/presence of Sethi’s deceased child Beloved.

    • Reader reading - "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou: The Title is actually from a poem Maya Angelou read called Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The book starts with the author’s childhood and what her upbringing was like and the circumstances that led to her being raised by her grandmother and that she had an overall kind upbringing by her grandmother. And the book highlights the admiration the author had for her grandmother and the strong figure her grandmother was and the entrepreneur that she was. And the book goes into the challenges the author has with her mother who was not stable. The book so far is talking about the challenges and the good in her family and then the overall challenges of being black in general with racism and issues in the black community.

  • Prompt Two:

    • Reader reading - The Last of the African Kings by Maryse Condé: this feels like a tragedy. It shows the vices and problems and struggles of african americans in the family and community and the issues between black men and black women and how terrible it was in the families and relationships.

    • Reader reading - "Beloved" by Toni Morrison: Books like these show that no one can ever opine on the african American experience during these times because we can never know how treacherous it was for them firsthand. The book also highlights that community has always been core to how african americans navigate healing and challenges.

    • Reader reading - "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou: It is good to read these books because of the stereotypes that say blacks are lazy so although these stories are difficult, it is important to see what the realities were and are. And with these stories there is always some sources of lightness and joy and humor amongst the tragedies or in between that are infused in the writing. Not just with Maya Angelou but many of the other writers that talk about the life of african americans during these times. Also, I want to posit that with all these tragedies and traumas that happened in slavery and post slavery, does the stain of these tragedies ever really leave a family or the generations.

  • Prompt Three:

    • Reader reading - The Last of the African Kings by Maryse Condé: I learned that she describes herself as a truth teller. And that she was criticized for how she showed the challenges in the lives of the diaspora and the not good aspects of their lives and the poor treatment that happened in relationships and families.

    • Reader reading - "Beloved" by Toni Morrison: She is not self-seeking. Her purpose for going into writing is yes to write the stories she felts need to be told but she is also mindful of the writers coming after her and that she knows she is paving the way.

    • Reader reading - "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou: Maya Angelou’s real name was: Marguerite Annie Johnson. And, just being in the childhood portion of the book, it is interesting to see how she navigated things as a child. Also, beyond the book, her life has been fascinating as an activist and writer and also her taking time to explore and get to know Ghana. And also that she took it upon herself to be an advocate for others. And knowing what her beginnings were to the life she lived is truly impressive.

Sophia Senyo
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12th Book: What Is Africa to Me?: Fragments of a True-to-Life Autobiography by Maryse Condé
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10th Book: “Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope” by bell hooks