WELL-READ BLACK GIRL
Finding Out Stories, Discovering Ourselves
by Glory Edim (Editor, Introduction)
Normally, a book inspired by an Instagram page would get a big eye roll from me, but how could I resist a book about finding yourself and discovering joy through reading? In 2015, Glory Edim chose @wellreadblackgirl as her Instagram handle to celebrate her love of reading and her desire to uplift Black female authors. Within a few years she had created an IRL book club in her native New York, which quickly spawned satellites around the country. They often invited authors to come and speak and from there she got the idea for this anthology-style book.
This collection of essays by Black women authors, poets and activists is about reading, books and how seeing themselves represented by a character or author changed the way they saw themselves. Naturally, many of the contributors cite Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker–all of whom I encountered as a high schooler at the Winsor School. I have now committed to revisiting them as my memory of these classic writers is hazy at best. There were also women who mentioned young-adult and children’s lit I had never heard of. Interspersed between each essay are lists of book recommendations by category, like “Best Fantasy by Black Women” or “Best Coming-of-Age Stories by Black Women.”
Although the sheer number of books referenced was overwhelming (similar to perusing the gorgeous book Bibliophile by Jane Mount), I was inspired to add many new and old names to my “to read” list. And I truly love reading stories about how other people fall in love with reading. And that is, at its heart, what this book is about. (Lily)
