Re: RARA-AVIS: "Passing" onto Iceberg Slim and Donald Goines
Mark Sullivan (ANONYMEINC@webtv.net)
Thu, 21 Jan 1999 19:52:49 -0500 (EST)
While we're talking about Holloway House, I'd like to mention
two
authors I particularly like in that vein: Nathan Heard and Jess
Mowry.
(Admittedly, only the latter was published by Holloway House
and him for
only one, now out-of-print book, but they are writing of
similar
conditions and characters.) I've only read one book by Heard,
but it
was pretty amazing (and in print), Howard Street. The best
description
I've seen of it was something like: "If Hubert Selby Jr. wrote
for
Holloway House" This is apt because it seems like a black
corollary to
Last Exit to Brooklyn. I recently found two other books of his
in a used
store, plus I think there is another now in print from
AMOK.
Jess Mowry wrote the amazing Way Past Cool about a small gang
of
elementary school kids trying to make it in Oakland. Almost
completely
lacking in sentimentality, but with very slight touches of
magical
realism (or is it just the kids' imagination?). A truly great
work.
Mark
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