This one is for Jonzey and all the Black girls in the world who live to tell stories.
I reread Martha Southgate’s Third Girl From the Left this week and I was moved by the fact that I read this book in 2005 when it came out, but I think that the fact that I am five years older, have lost and gained loves, lost and gained apartments, broken hearts and got my heart broken, lost and gained careers. I just look at the book, the importance of the narrative differently now.
The book is about a Black woman from Oklahoma who moves to LA in the 70’s with dreams of making it big in Hollywood. What follows is a story about Black women’s dreams, Black women desiring and loving Black women, constructions of family outside of the nuclear, and what happens to your dreams when they don’t turn out the ways you expect them to.
Real Talk.
Here? are of couple of excerpts that jumped off? of the page:
Tamara Muses on the Politics of Getting her Film Made and her Film School Boyfriend
They made up. They didn’t have time to keep fighting anyway. That as the other thing between them; the money and the time. They never talked about it. He was able to get enough money from his parents to hire a professional cinematographer. And she couldn’t. She didn’t have anyone to shoot for her. She had grabbed every grant possible, begged for every loan imaginable. Nothing had come through.? She could not afford a crew. They were talking about it again on this night. Colin knew she was upset, even though her eyes were resolutely dry…..
Tamara Meets her Grandmother at Nearly 28 Years Old
“Well, I never. A black girl making movies. I never thought I’d see such a thing. I love the pictures. Your mama ever tell you that? We used to go every Saturday, rain or shine, no matter wht. We saw everything. You ask her.”? She stopped again briefly. “Whenever we wasn’t fightng, we was at the pictures. We saw everything. Ask her about Carmen Jones.” ….”I don’t know why you’d want to make a movie about an old woman like me. But you sure can….”
Honestly, we need to pool the money together to make this book into movie.
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Cast who we want or who Martha Southgate wants, and screen it in our living rooms, lounges, screening rooms.
Ms.? Southgate has given us a gift in this book. Rather than gripe and moan about new ways in which Nina Simone is being disrespected or Tyler Perry’s latest iteration of normalizing violence against us, only when we control how our stories are told will we be allowed to be human in our art.
Speaking of Black peoples stories, my homie James just cut a trailer for his new film, The Bicycle. Check it out here.
Have you read Martha Southgate’s work?
What are you reading now?
Crowdsourcing Black Women’s Stories?
#ummp. #ummhmm.
This is the first I have heard of Martha Southgate. I will definitely check out this book.
Right now I’m reading Jazz by Toni Morrison and after that will probably start reading Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America by Jonathan Kozol.
I love her work, The Fall of Rome was very good and was just telling my girlfriend I need to purchase it (it was her copy) so that my son can read it.
I believed I read this one, but im not sure, so I shall read again.
Right now im reading Pearl Cleage’s new book, Till You Hear From Me.
I printed out the list of books you had in a previous post and have been adding to my list ever since. I both buy and get my books from the library. My next delivery will be the Mis-Education of a Negro, in all of my 30+ years have never read it and will also be passing that along to my son.
@Msdaily
The Fall of Rome is up next, I have read that already too, but I think I may have some other insights now based on my reading of Third Girl…I hope your son enjoys it….
I need to do one Black fiction post a week…
LOVVVVVVVVVVE Pearl Cleage. LOVE…#Ummhmm.
I read Miseducation when I was REAL young…prolly too young (if that is possible.)
@Sasha
How are you finding Jazz. I don’t know if I ever read that one?
~R
I just added Southgate’s books to my long to-read list. Just finished an street-lit title Wifey by Kiki Swinson which was OK but I don’t recommend it. Going through Goines catalog, I’m currently on Black Girl Lost. So far Clockers by Richard Price is a really good book. I plan on watching the film directed by Spike Lee when I’m done with the book.
After that, I look forward to reading Nnedi Okorafor’s Who Fears Death then Octavia Butler’s BloodChild.
I’m trying to get it in this year.
aww, did you read it cuz of me? lol #kidding
but this was my book club pick last year. loved it. what struck me was that it was SO different than anything i’d read w/ black female leads.
as far as a film…there are MANY that need to be made. Imagine SULA on the big screen. crazy.
ps–i remember reading some blog & Martha was talking about it being rough for non-street lit black writers. she was having a particularly tough time & had to go back to temping or something. i’ll try to find the link.
here: http://twomindsfull.blogspot.com/2009/11/open-letter-to-oprah-winfrey-from.html
BD,
Thank you for the links. There was piece in the Washington Post yesterday by Bernice L. McFadden about How Black Fiction is Ghettoized. http://bit.ly/cd1dpH.
Reminds me of the importance of the Martha Southgates of the world, and of our open support of them.
Sometimes, we hand white folks too much power over our lives.
In it MS doesn’t talk about temping, even though I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. Or perhaps I mis read the post.
I googled her and she is teaching in the MFA prog @ City, which makes sense. They program is thorough. #Ummhmm.
I haven’t read anything by Martha Southgate. I’m currently reading Feminista by Erica Kennedy.
yeah, she doesn’t talk about temping, but she’s in the comments section saying she had to go back to being a paralegal to pay the bills.
writing is so uncertain.
was having a convo w/ ol bklyn boy and he asked why i didn’t just DO IT. i said…money..responsibility…the block ain’t so hot for black women writers who ain’t writing about sex or shooting nikkas. but soon come. our time.
I think Tyler Perry reads your blog. But keep writing anyway.
I’d love to see this novel as a film.
And “Jazz” was aMAYzing. :o)
Aw, hell. When I said :O I MEANT 🙂
I’m a longtime lurker & fan of your blog and voice. I read this book last night based on your suggestion. It totally rocked my world as a wannabe novelist and a Black Girl Rules chick I have been longing for stories that completely explore our lives — including the sexual side without debasing us. “Third Girl From the Left” did that in an amazing way.
Just wanted to let you know that you are heard and appreciated in blogland!