How do you store books when you don’t have a bookshelf?
Today, I squeezed through my narrow hallway with books scattered along the wall and spilling out of cracked cardboard boxes. I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to admire my collection of Black authors. I didn’t even know how many books I had. I also didn’t have a bookshelf available.
I went to the Google machine, TikTok think tank and Instagram picture machine and I saw a bunch of people had simply stacked their books. Why hadn’t I ever thought of that? Every week I visit thrift stores and come home and put books in boxes.
I think I was mentally in a state of chaos which has created a lot of clutter around my house. Books are so special to me but I haven’t been feeling special, so I put them in boxes. Today, everything changed. I took every book out and brought them into my bedroom where they belonged. My smile grew wider, the more books I found. I realized that I was growing my own collection of Black women authors. I had multiple books (and editions) byZora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, Maya Angelouand Toni Morrison!
I knew I wanted to stack my books but I didn’t want ridiculously tall towers of books. I have two small children and I knew that was a disaster waiting to happen. I decided to display Black authors because they are my most prized pieces of my book collection. I decided to leave my other books for another day and concentrate on getting my favorite books on display first.
I used a coffee table located in the corner of my bedroom, adjacent to the window and wall. First, I organized the books by the author. Then, I arranged books by width, with the widest book on the bottom. I created three stacks, with the tallest being 16 inches. I stacked my other books underneath the coffee table, against the wall.
Take this as a sign to organize your books! I didn’t have a bookshelf but I still wanted to make this corner of my bedroom aesthetically pleasing and well organized. I stacked my collection of nonfiction and fiction work by Black writers. How do you organize your books without a bookshelf?#aesthetic#booktok#bookshelf#roomtour
I’m so glad that I didn’t overthink things. I used a corner of my bedroom and one coffee table to organize 52 books. Click here for book recommendations to fill your space.
We discuss work by black women writers we love. Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, Ntozake Shange, Angela Davis, Nikki Giovanni, Terry McMillan, Bell Hooks, Lorraine Hansberry, Octavia E Butler, Alice Walker, Audre Lorde, Maya Angelou and more are discussed.
Tish
The Social Impact of Black Women Writers
Black women writers help bring Black women experiences to life for millions of readers since the 17th century. Phillis Wheatley was the first Black published poet. After traveling to London with her owner’s son, she published her first collection of poems in 1773, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. American abolitionists cited her poems as evidence that Black people were just as capable as White people of excellence in artistic and intellectual pursuits.
“If you don’t get out there and define yourself, you’ll be quickly and inaccurately defined by others.”
Black women writers have a knack for bringing up topics that many shy away from. They tackle themes such as racism, politics, relationships, and more with fearless honesty. They share their personal experiences and give a voice to those who are often overlooked. Black women writers are crucial to the literary world because they tell stories that resonate with everyone.
Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1982. However, it received a lot of criticism for its portrayal of the abuse and oppression that Black women faced in their personal lives at the hands of men. The book touched on themes such as sexism, racism, homosexuality, incest, and the power of friendship and love between Black women.
In 1985, the novel was adapted into a movie and reached a much wider audience. This led to more criticism of the book and the movie. It became a topic of heated debates, community forums, and pickets among Black people in many parts of the country.
Reading stories about Black women can create a more empathetic society.An article from Scientific American stated that Researchers at The New School in New York City found evidence that literary fiction improves a reader’s capacity to understand what others are thinking and feeling.
Keith Oatley, a novelist and Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Toronto, believes that literary fiction serves as a medium to explore the complexities of human experience. Reading such works enables people to gain exposure to diverse perspectives and understand the differences that exist among people. By reading, one can step outside of oneself and challenge personal biases.
Yes, representation matters, but there is more to transformation than looking into a book the way you would look into a mirror.”
Empathy does not always produce a moral response. But, it should implore the reader to acknowledge that people should not identify with a collective view. Toxic group think about Black women can only be changed by knowledge.
Researchers at The New School in New York City have found evidence that reading literary fiction improves the capacity to understand what others are thinking and feeling. Some readers even share feelings for characters as they navigate conflict within novels. The conflicts can be familiar or totally outside of our knowledge base.
William Chopik, a University of Michigan psychologist said this about fiction and stories, “They expose us to uncomfortable ideas … and provide us with the opportunity to take other peoples’ perspectives in a safe, distanced way.”
I was on an emotional roller coaster while reading Assata, An Autobiography. My heart broke for Assata Shakur as she was handcuffed to a hospital bed and mistreated by racist police officers after the death of a white New Jersey state trooper. She wrote about jail and a prison escape. Eventually Shakur was given political asylum by Cuba, where she now resides.
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.”
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Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison’s portrait on the first-edition dust jacket of The Bluest Eye (1970) (Wikipedia Commons)
Toni Morrison was the first black woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. She accepted the Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2012. Her non-fiction and fiction works transformed the world’s views of Black life, Black history and American history. The Bluest Eye was named PARADE best book of all time.
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston (Wikipedia Commons)
Zora Neale Hurston was a writer and anthropologist. She explored Black American folklore and the experiences of Southern Black women. Their Eyes Were Watching Godis considered one of the most important books of the twentieth century.
Angela Davis is a political activist, scholar, author, and speaker. She is an outspoken advocate for oppressed and exploited people, writing on Black liberation, prison abolition, the intersections of race, gender, and class, and international solidarity with Palestine. Angela Davis’s An Autobiography is a powerful account of how Angela Davis became a political activist for feminist, queer, and prison abolitionist movements.
Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni (Wikipedia Commons)
Nikki Giovanni is one of the most respected poets of the Black Arts Movement.
Bell Hooks writes about race, feminism, and class. All About Love cemented her legacy as feminist icon.
Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Hansberry (Wikipedia Commons)
Lorraine Hansberry was a writer and playwright. She penned A Raisin in the Sun, and became the first Black woman author ever to have a play performed on Broadway.
Octavia E Butler
Octavia E Butler signed a copy of Fledgling in 2005 (Wikipedia Commons)
Octavia E Butler is a pioneer for science fiction and Afro-futurism. She was the first science fiction writer to receive a MacAuthor Fellowship.
Alice Walker
Alice Walker (Wikipedia Commons)
Alice Walker wrote the 1982 classic, The Color Purple, then became the first Black woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The novel openly depicted oppressive abusive relationships between Black women and Black men. The novel was groundbreaking and the subject of many literary discussions.
Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde photographed by Elsa Dorfman
Audre Lorde was a writer, poet, civil rights activist and philosopher. She said, “If I didn’t define myself for myself, I’d be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” She has been a champion for Black women and Black queer people since 1982.
Maya Angelou is arguably the most influential Black voice in literature. Angelou was an author, poet and civil rights. Her groundbreaking novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, should be required reading.