tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378Thu, 21 Oct 2010 02:24:28 +0000could a doctor of philosophy hoodoo you with thoughts about literature, music, film, and other artistic creations...http://dolen.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)Blogger281125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-7144405023830768005Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:28:00 +00002010-01-20T15:30:02.630-05:00Click here to listen to my radio interview re: WENCH with Lynn Neary (aired Jan. 20) on NPR's "Tell Me More."http://dolen.blogspot.com/2010/01/wench-interview-on-nprs-tell-me-more-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-206068940805864462Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:52:00 +00002010-01-13T09:53:53.290-05:00Check out the February 2010 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine for a mention of my debut novel WENCH in the Books Section! WENCH is listed as #1 of "Ten Titles Coming This Month."http://dolen.blogspot.com/2010/01/wench-featured-in-o-oprah-magazine_13.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-7098555957072523417Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:37:00 +00002010-01-13T09:38:50.151-05:00Check out this week's People magazine (Jan. 18) on p. 56 for a review of my debut novel WENCH!!!http://dolen.blogspot.com/2010/01/wench-featured-in-people-magazine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-8484587158622770926Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:53:00 +00002009-12-11T09:58:16.195-05:00Dolen Perkins-ValdezWenchMake sure to pick up a copy of the January ESSENCE magazine. WENCH, my forthcoming novel, is featured in there. If you want to be the first to hear all the buzz related to the book, click here to become a Facebook fan.OR you can click here to join my mailing list. http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/12/wench-featured-in-essence-magazine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-5196656769389082451Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:20:00 +00002009-12-08T10:29:52.764-05:00Click here for Alan W. King's moving tribute to Karibu Books. By the way, he mentions Reginald Dwayne Betts (pictured to the left) whose memoir A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison is out now and receiving rave reviews. Betts is the former manager of the Karibu bookstore. Click here to buy it.http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/12/karibu-books-rip.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-3654253726897430084Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:04:00 +00002009-12-08T10:14:34.958-05:00Asha BandeleOver the years, I have often thought of Asha Bandele. I first fell in love with the words of this talented writer when I read The Prisoner's Wife back in 1999. I couldn't forget this heartbreakingly honest memoir about a young poet-intellectual who falls in love with a guy, Rashid, in prison. While recently browsing in Busboys & Poets bookstore in DC (wonderful place, by the way), I saw that http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/11/asha-bandele.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-550862978132634123Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:25:00 +00002009-11-25T12:53:59.793-05:00Sara TavaresI have been meaning to write about a positively magical concert I went to a little over 10 days ago. Sara Tavares is a Portuguese singer of Cape Verdean descent with a unique voice and a very international sound. I was already loving her CD "Balancé." But I have to say, I knew that I was in for a treat when she asked for a show of hands of people in the audience of Cape Verdean descent and http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/11/sara-tavares.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-3778960891247602979Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:38:00 +00002009-11-20T00:55:25.624-05:00Kathryn MaI blogged here when my friend Kathryn Ma won the Meyerson Prize for fiction for her story "All That Work and Still No Boys." Well, imagine the delight Curtis Sittenfeld must have had when she picked up Kathryn Ma's manuscript of short stories of the same title while judging the 2009 Iowa Short Fiction Award. I have just finished this 2009 Iowa Short Fiction Award- winning collection, and while Ihttp://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/11/all-that-work-and-still-no-boys-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-3166569150944925392Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:20:00 +00002009-11-10T11:27:37.604-05:00Just a reminder that we are less than 2 months away from the launch of my debut novel WENCH.Click here for more information.“In her debut, Perkins-Valdez eloquently plunges into a dark period of American history…Heart-wrenching, intriguing, original and suspenseful, this novel showcases Perkins-Valdez’s ability to bring the unfortunate past to life.” — Publishers Weekly“A striking debut http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/11/just-reminder-that-we-are-less-than-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-7921586216298246118Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:44:00 +00002009-11-05T08:59:03.596-05:00Roy DeCaravaDo you know Roy DeCarava's work? If not, I recommend that you take a look here.On Oct. 27, photographer Roy DeCarava died at the age of 89. He co-authored a book with Langston Hughes called The Sweet Flypaper of Life (love that title, btw). He is known for having rejected the photojournalism espoused by so many photographers of the period, instead reaching for an artistic visual imagery that http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/11/roy-decarava-1919-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-4819745199846781354Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:44:00 +00002009-10-28T10:00:25.227-04:00Concha BuikaI am writing about the beautiful Spanish singer Concha Buika again (see my earlier post here) because she has yet another album out. This one is a compilation album, so it's a good one to buy if you still haven't gotten with the program.By the way, when is she going to do a song with El Cigala? Their voices would just go perfectly together. I would positively faint if I could see them in concerthttp://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/10/buika-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-3087266940490783938Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:45:00 +00002009-10-27T09:51:05.168-04:00Tayari JonesI am so happy to announce that the novelist Tayari Jones will be publishing her 3rd novel with Algonquin Books!! It's called THE SILVER GIRL. If you don't know this writer's work, I suggest that you take a look at one of her first two novels LEAVING ATLANTA or THE UNTELLING. She is a must-read.She also has a fabulous blog here. I have blogged about her before here. Take a look.http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/10/tayari-jones-silver-girl.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-4867289447418451431Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:30:00 +00002009-10-21T22:24:28.513-04:00Marie Mutsuki MockettHello bloggers!! Long time no talk to. I hope you'll forgive my absence when I tell you about this fabulous novel I've just finished. It's called Picking Bones from Ash, and it is the debut of a very talented writer Marie Mutsuki Mockett. Oh my goodness, y'all, Marie's style is so lush and thoughtful and ethereal. And her delightful sentences are reflected in the storyline...if you like http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/10/picking-bones-from-ash-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-3217887268186683479Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:43:00 +00002009-06-18T16:48:41.854-04:00Thanks to the "Pages Turned" blog for turning me on to Maggie's Annual Southern Reading Challenge. The challenge is to read three southern books between May 15 and August 15. As a southern author myself, I am always looking to see what other contemporary writers are doing with this magical part of the country. So I joined! And I'm counting Randall Kenan's The Fire This Time as my first book. http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/06/annual-southern-reading-challenge-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-902996191597174600Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:27:00 +00002009-06-17T18:40:55.643-04:00Edwidge DanticatI could have sworn that I blogged about Edwidge Danticat's The Farming of Bones some months ago. But when I look back at my entries, I can't find a post. So...once again...something moved through my head as if I'd actually done it.Danticat's novel is good. But what would you expect? It is no secret among booklovers that Danticat is one of our bright young stars. This novel tells the story ofhttp://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/06/here-is-beginning-of-my-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-4302284304518157502Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:48:00 +00002009-06-16T16:58:21.076-04:00Gonzalo BarrSome characters stand up and demand for you to tell their stories. This is the way I felt with Gonzalo Barr's collection The Last Flight of Jose Luis Balboa. Barr's stories capture the complex cultural hodgepodge of Miami. It's the kind of book that makes you never look at a city the same way again. Barr won the Bakeless Prize in 2005, and I heard him read from "Braulio Wants His Car Back" http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/06/last-flight-of-jose-luis-balboa-2006.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-7079544308741221614Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:42:00 +00002009-06-11T01:48:37.669-04:00I'm updating my blog and I've added some new author links to my "Faves" list in the right sidebar, including: Ru Freeman (pictured to the left), Paul Austin, Kathryn Ma, Gonzalo Barr, Kirsten Menger-Anderson, Marie Mockett.Click on any name above to go directly to their website!!:-]http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-links.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-3309321133095318648Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:36:00 +00002009-06-09T17:29:43.083-04:00Randall KenanI have always enjoyed Randall Kenan's fiction. The things he does with the rural southern narrative, his incorporation of myth and magic into the southern oral tradition, his incredible compassion for ordinary black folks and their ways and customs has long endeared this writer to me. The term "brilliant" is bandied about a lot to describe writers these days, especially the precocious ones or http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/06/fire-this-time-2007.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-2046406175864671914Wed, 27 May 2009 15:33:00 +00002009-05-27T11:52:23.087-04:00memoirTa-Nehisi CoatesI've just finished Ta-Nehisi Coates' new memoir The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood (2008) and I am completely enthralled by this talented writer! I'd heard so much about Ta-Nehisi before this and had read a few articles here and there by him. But it wasn't until I read this wonderful book that I felt a sense of connection with him, and a true http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/05/ta-nehisi-coates-beautiful-struggle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-2569458703097038378Mon, 18 May 2009 05:41:00 +00002009-05-18T01:51:14.458-04:00I have written about Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle before, but it is only after having lived here for these past few years that I have begun to truly appreciate the wonderful work they do in promoting good literature. I have always loved to browse the shelves there...it has tall ceilings and old hardwood floors and lovely reading nooks. Even my author photo was taken here.But I want to http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/05/elliott-bay-book-co.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-1863712032200855512Fri, 15 May 2009 16:06:00 +00002009-05-15T12:22:25.644-04:00Out here in Seattle, the International Film Festival is underway, and I am already sifting through the film descriptions to determine what I want to see. As I see them, I will--of course--blog about them here.So far, my choices are:Skin (South African film starring that really beautiful actress Sophie Okenedo telling the true and fascinating story of a woman born with black skin (due to a http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/05/siff-films-films-films.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-6502869595623102117Fri, 15 May 2009 16:03:00 +00002009-05-15T12:25:04.025-04:00Tayari JonesOver at her uber-popular blog, Tayari Jones is profiling 8 emerging writers she's calling "The Amazing Eight." The profiles have already begun so read through to hear these inspiring stories! Click here to read. The names are:Ru Freeman, Matthew Goodman, Dwayne Betts, Tara Betts, Tiphanie Yanique, Marie Mutsuki Mockett, Andew Ervin, Dolen Perkins-Valdezhttp://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/05/amazing-eight.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-6577195295868701051Sat, 02 May 2009 04:18:00 +00002009-05-02T00:21:17.632-04:00Here's a little NYT clip by Lynn Nottage about her play "Ruined" which just won a 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/02/11/theater/20090211-ruined/index.htmlhttp://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/05/lynn-nottages-ruined.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-486241197600481300Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:00:00 +00002009-04-30T02:08:30.548-04:00I am either getting too old or too soft for violent movies. This past weekend, I went to see a new Mexican film Sin Nombre which won a couple of Sundance awards this year. Don't get me wrong. It's a well-done film. Here is the IMDB plot summary:Honduran teenager Sayra (Gaitan) reunites with her father, an opportunity for her to potentially realize her dream of a life in the U.S. Moving to http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/04/sin-nombre-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8110378.post-7710409843877849433Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:52:00 +00002009-04-30T01:58:29.803-04:00Tayari JonesWonderful opportunity y'all: Award-winning fiction writer and fellow gal from the South will be teaching at Provincetown's Fine Arts Work Center June 14-19. The title of her workshop is Tales from the Kidscape: Writing the Coming of Age Story. Participants will discuss Michael Cunningham's "White Angel," ZZ Packer's "Brownies," and Julie Orringer's "Pilgrims."I'll give you 3 reasons to go: http://dolen.blogspot.com/2009/04/tayari-jones-at-fawc.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dolen Perkins-Valdez)0