Powell concedes the lack of a unifying theme in this eclectic collection of writing from 104 contemporary black writers, famous and obscure, aged 23 to 43, from 9 countries and 3 continents. The collection reflects the slickness of young black wordsmiths, race consciousness, and sensibilities about the artistry of communication via word. The different styles and media--including a manifesto, a letter, and an e-mail--reflect the diversity of talent among the group of writers, generally lumped together under the heading of black writers. The collection includes Valerie Boyd in a tribute to Alice Walker, Lisa Jones on the magical cure for race relations represented by the self-described Cablinasian Tiger Woods, and Powell on the racial politics of death row. Some other writers represented are Debra Dickerson, Trey Ellis, Edwidge Danticat, Tananarive Due, and Jake Lamar. This book is arranged in six sections: essays, hip-hop journalism, criticism, fiction, poetry, and dialogue. Powell laments the "MTV-ization of The Word Movement" among the young hip-hop writers and rappers but celebrates the enduring artistry and worth of verbal communication among black writers. --Vanessa Bush

This anthology of young, contemporary black writers generally maintains a precarious balance between authentic discovery and promotional marketing, although the writing varies widely in quality and relevance (some selections are quite riveting, others just self-absorbed). Divided into six sectionsÄ"Essays," "Hip-Hop Journalism," "Criticism," "Fiction," "Poetry," and "Dialogue"Äthe collection presents a broad range of voices and perspectives, although a majority of them are, not surprisingly, from the United States. While some of the texts, particularly those on hip-hop, seem overly dramatic and hyperbolic, some very fine writing emerges in the "Essays" section. Mostly autobiographical, these selections address the very real contemporary problems of black identity in a post-Civil Rights era in which the political battle lines have become much more blurred and the issues of self, nation, class, gender, sexuality, and history are immensely complicated. The items in the "Dialogue" section are the most strident and the most inventive and compelling. Even though this book will mainly be used as a classroom textbook, it could be a valuable addition to larger collections and other libraries interested in offering brief introductions to young black writers.ÄRoger A. Berger, Everett Community Coll., WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.