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Urban Literature Week. Western High School Library February 1-5 2010. The Urban Literature Genre. Also called “Street Lit” Usually set in a large city Characters are usually African American Often focuses on darker themes such as gangs, violence, drugs, teen pregnancy, and abuse
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Urban Literature Week Western High School Library February 1-5 2010
The Urban Literature Genre • Also called “Street Lit” • Usually set in a large city • Characters are usually African American • Often focuses on darker themes such as gangs, violence, drugs, teen pregnancy, and abuse • Genre made popular by Authors such as Omar Tyree and Nikki Grimes
As fifteen-year-old Pemba adjusts to leaving her Brooklyn, New York, home for small-town Connecticut, a history researcher helps her understand the paranormal experiences drawing her into the life of a girl who was once a slave in her house.
China Cup Cameron, a fourteen-year-old single mother with only her paralyzed Uncle Simon for support, takes on tremendous personal debt in hopes of a beautiful funeral after her daughter dies.
High schooler Kendra longs to live with her mother who, unprepared for motherhood at age fourteen, left Kendra in the care of her grandmother.
New York City breakdancer Nicole falls in love with Zin, a fellow dancer, but an ancient secret forces Zin to keep his distance from Nicole, despite his growing feelings for her.
Kate, a fourteen-year-old Brooklyn girl and former gang member, risks losing her first good foster family when she adopts the risque ways of her flirtatious new friend, Naleejah.
From a traditional Latino family, Sonja vows that she will be the first girl in her family to graduate high school.
After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game.
As Kofi, Arielle, Dana, November, and Jericho face personal challenges during their last year of high school, a misunderstood student brings a gun to class and demands to be taken seriously.
Fifteen-year-old Gia decides her natural beauty and talent are not enough to make her sophomore dreams come true, but after a makeover, date with a football player, and a spot on the Hi-Steppers dance squad disappoint, Gia realizes a new truth about happiness.
Seeing no way out of his difficult life in Harlem, seventeen-year-old-Jeremy “Lil J” Dance flees into a house after a drug deal goes awry and meets a strange man who shows him different turning points in his life where he could have made better choices.
Seventeen-year-old Antonio and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Natasha, find their love tested when Antonio is wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit.
In the Florida projects, sixteen-year-old Jayson struggles with the harsh realities of his life which include an abusive mother, a drug-addicted father, and not fitting in at his predominately white school, and bring him to the brink of suicide.
Thirteen-year-old Shayla is upset when her estranged father's new baby is born on her birthday, but she learns that her problems are nothing compared to those faced by her friends Kambia and Lemm.
Sheree, tough from growing up without a father, finds herself at a loss to help herself when she falls into the same trap as her mother.
A collection of short stories about murder, violence, and teenagers on death row
The author recounts his growing up in poverty in Los Angeles, his encounters with racism in school and on the streets, and his struggle to overcome prejudice, drugs, and violence.
A personal account of inner-city violence and its effect on children.
Growing up in the inner-city projects, DeShawn is reluctantly forced into the gang world by circumstances beyond his control.
Sophomore Frankie finally finds the courage to ask his long-term friend, Julianne, to the Homecoming dance, which ultimately leads to a face-off between a tough senior whose family owns most of their small, New Mexico town, and Frankie's soccer-star older brother and his gang-member friends.
After Midnight's father's empire is attacked, he is sent with his mother to live in the United States, but on the streets of Brooklyn, Midnight remains true to his beliefs while attempting to reclaim his former wealth and protect his family, while attracting the lustful attention of a number of women.
Traces the history of hip-hop's relationship with flashy jewelry, presenting interviews with Run of Run-D.M.C., Slick Rick, Chuck D, Salt of Salt-N-Pepa, 50 Cent, and other performers as well as jewelers-to-the-stars Jacob Arabo and Tito.
"Don't be skerd." Youme describes her unique collaboration with artist Anthony Horton, which began as the two traveled together on the New York subway system.
Percy Carey uses a graphic novel format to chronicle his rise and fall in the hip-hop industry, discussing his first experiences with music, the gang violence that put him in a wheelchair, his life in prison, his self-reinvention, and his impressions of the music industry.
Jazz vocalist Billie Holiday looks back on her early years in this fictional memoir written in verse.
Presents over forty poems of slam, hip-hop, Taos, Nuyorican, performance art, and other contemporary styles, featuring such authors as Sherman Alexie, Edward Hirsch, Viggo Mortensen, and Patricia Smith.
Includes A narrative of the life and adventures of Venture, a native of Africa. A collection of poems by Marilyn Nelson, accompanied by prose by African slave Venture Smith and watercolor paintings by Deborah Dancy.
