A few days ago when my August 2010 post about Liberation Bookstore and Una Mulzac blew up with hits, I knew it was a signal that this matriarch and soldier in the army of black political struggle had, as one headline read, "joined the ancestors."
Like many who lived outside of the Harlem community, and outside of NY state for that matter, I "knew" Una Mulzac and Liberation Bookstore more by reputation than by personal experience. In a wonderful culturally-conscious period between the early '80s through the mid-'90s, I heard the name of Liberation Bookstore invoked by brothers and sisters at black cultural fairs, literary conferences and black arts festivals in my hometown of Baltimore. From what these sisters and brothers said, I learned that Liberation Bookstore was a mecca where the conscious, the righteous brotherhood and sisterhood traveled to fortify themselves with black literature but also to meet up with other disciples of black culture who patronized Liberation and admired Una Mulzac.
I don't remember when I learned that the owner of Liberation Bookstore was a woman, but that news was indeed liberating for me. Una Mulzac was likely the first contemporary Black woman that I heard of who, as an entrepreneur, was dedicated to providing her community with black literature. Liberation became a destination that I kept faith to visit one day. Fortunately, I did visit several times, and listened first-hand to Una Mulzac talk about her father's dedication to the cause, and her own life devoted to freedom and human rights.
My post on Liberation Bookstore after the Harlem Bookfair in 2010 has been one of the consistently popular posts on this blog; I offer it here again in tribute to Una Mulzac, with gratitude for the example that she set for me to pursue a life devoted to books, according to my own interests, in the promotion of education and the progress of Black people.
In addition, two obituaries (you will need to sign up for accounts):
Liberation Bookstore owner, Una G. Mulzac, passes at 88, by Herb Boyd, Special to the Amsterdam News
Una Mulzac, Bookseller With Passion for Black Politics, Dies at 88, by Douglas Martin, NYT, Feb. 4, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Book Sale - Newly arrived titles
Prices are reduced 10-15% on most titles - browse below and
See more Now Rise Books on Amazon.com
Order more than 1 book from Now Rise Books and receive
See more Now Rise Books on Amazon.com
Order more than 1 book from Now Rise Books and receive
$1.50 REFUND on SHIPPING for EACH additional book purchased in the same order.
Autobiography
Open Wide The Freedom Gates: A Memoir by Dorothy Height. PublicAffairs 2005. Pb. Pages: 344. Condition: Like new copy. Price penciled in on half title page. Dr. Height's autobiography chronicling her unparalled influence and contributions to African American civil rights progress from the early decades of the 20th century through the early days of President Barack Obama's administration. $8.50
Essays
David Walker's Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World by David Walker. Publisher: Penn State UP. Publication Date: 2000. Pages: 137. Condition: Very good, clean pages. Intro., annotations by Peter P. Hinks. Like new - this edition includes Blacks' responses to Walker's Appeal and text of letters revealing how Whites were alarmed by the dissemination of Walker's Appeal in Georgia and other Southern states. $11.00
Affirmative Acts by June Jordan. Anchor; 1st ed. 1998, pages: 288. Condition: Very good copy, tight binding, clean pages, tanning. Bookstore sticker on back cover; price in pencil on half title page. Jordan's essays in this volume, as in her broad body of influential work, "boldly confronts issues intersecting race, gender and class in America."
Some of Us Did NOT Die: New and Selected Essays by June Jordan. Basic Civitas Books, 2003.. Pages: 320. Condition: Clean pages, bump to top spine, minimal wear; good copy; price in pencil on half title page. Jordan's powerful work as an writer-activist, poet and scholar blaze with light and truth, in this final collection of her work before her death, June 14, 2002. $8.50
History
Bef
Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 Through the Stono Rebellion by Peter H. Wood. Norton. Publication Date: 1996 (orig. published 1974). Pages: 346. Condition: Binding is tight and pages clean. Very good copy; price in pencil on half title page. Peter H Wood's social history of the construct of slavery in its unique development in South Carolina. Biblio. note; Appendix D reprints a newspaper commentary urging enforcement of a law regulating the "comings and goings of slaves." $8.00
Black Odyssey: The African-American Ordeal in Slavery by Nathan Irvin Hare. Vintage, 1990. Pb. [Orig. published, 1977.] Pages: 336. Condition: Very good copy, binding is tight and pages clean. Price in pencil on half title page. Huggins' book is a classic work on the Atlantic slave trade and how Black and Whites were impacted by the system of slavery--"an enduring contribution to the study of American history." $8.00
Literature
God's Trombones; Seven Negro Sermons in Verse by James Weldon Johnson. The Viking press 1942 Hardback, 1941. Pages: 56. illustrations by Aaron Douglass. Condition: Excellent condition of the 1941 EDITION, ninth printing. Dust jacket near fine in mylar cover, very soft smudges in some areas of cream cover. Binding tight, endpapers intact; light wear to board edges; small tear to letter "G" in title on front cover. Pages are clean, deckle edges. Johnson's classic "seven Negro sermons in verse" captures the linguistic stylings and cultural ethos of Black American society." $32.00
Sports
A Hard Road to Glory, Arthur Ashe Jr. ed.. Warner Books; 2nd Printing, 1st ed.1988. Hardback. w/ photos, charts and tables. Pages: 571. Condition: Dust jacket and book,very good, clean, DJ minor edgewear, crease on back inside cover. Publisher mark on bottom text block; price on half title page. The third volume of tennis great Arthur Ashe's groundbreaking history of Blacks in sports. $11.00
Willie Stargell: An Autobiography by Willie Stargell. HarperCollins; 1st ed. 1984 Hardback Harper & Row, 1984, pgs. 247. Condition: Dust jacket and book very clean--minor edgewear to DJ. Price penciled in on half title page. An "open hearted" memoir by Willie Stargell, whose 20-year baseball career (retired 1982) is remembered for his accomplishments as a slugger and World Champion and a beloved figure of the Pittsburgh Pirates. $9.50
Joe Morgan: A Life in Baseball by Joe Morgan. W W Norton, 1st edition, 1993. Hardback
First Edition; w/ photos. Pages: 303. Condition: Dust jacket very good, book binding tight, pages very clean--minor edgewear to DJ. Sticker states baseball card included, but it is not in this book. Price on half title page. Hall-of-famer Joe Morgan tells inside baseball story of his days from little league to Cincinnati Reds championships. $8.50
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Open Wide the Freedom Gates
Taking in new inventory, yesterday, I came across the memoir recounting the extraordinary life of Dr. Dorothy Height...blessed with longevity, her life was an indefatigable and unwavering force directed at advocating for equality and opportunity for African Americans during most of the 20th century. I read her book a few years ago, while convalescing at home, and for a while it sat face out on the bottom shelf of a bookcase, so that every morning when I awoke, one of my first sights was Dr. Height's stately countenance and the uncompromising title of her book, which I felt was an imperative for my own life, going forward: Dr. Height's memoir is entitled, "open wide the freedom gates." I have acted on the imperative since then, but not as diligently as I might have had I kept the words at the forefront of my thoughts. So now reminded of that imperative, I have another guiding principle to help me to redeem my days, by looking for ways to expand opportunities for someone who needs access or information or something material to improve their lives, and that's just the inspiration I received from reading the title of Dr. Height's book. Thank you, Dr. Heights.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Books On Sale: Newly Arrived non-fiction, biography and fiction at Now Rise
Greetings dear friends -- and those of you who have just discovered Now Rise Books!
I am writing to say, "Thank you," to everyone who visited our storefront and purchased books from Now Rise in 2011. Your confidence and loyalty means so much. You have made this venture rewarding for me by sustaining Now Rise as a resource for readers and writers who value great books by and about the experience of people of African descent. I look forward to finding wonderful titles to offer this year and blogging about good books and interesting issues.
After completing inventory at the end of 2011, I am starting 2012 by announcing a sale on many of my regular stock. I hope the sale prices will encourage you to buy more books and to buy multiple books at one time--so that more of you will take advantage of our reduced shipping on multiple books in one order. I also hope the sale prices will motivate you to buy sooner than you might otherwise. I have an unsuspecting selfish motive: a successful sale will free up space in my very tiny storage unit so that I can bring into inventory more books that are recently purchased or that will be purchased in buying trips planned in the near future.
Over the next six weeks--beginning with this list at the Dr. King holiday through Black History Month--I will update this blog with books recently acquired--many at sale prices 15% less than what they would regularly be priced. So buy soon and keep checking Now Rise for newly added selections. Sign in on the mailing list of this blog to get notices of new titles added. Please tell your friends and colleagues about us and, you know, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Warm regards to you all,
Lisa Monroe
Bookseller
Now Rise Books
View Now Rise Books on sale:
I am writing to say, "Thank you," to everyone who visited our storefront and purchased books from Now Rise in 2011. Your confidence and loyalty means so much. You have made this venture rewarding for me by sustaining Now Rise as a resource for readers and writers who value great books by and about the experience of people of African descent. I look forward to finding wonderful titles to offer this year and blogging about good books and interesting issues.
After completing inventory at the end of 2011, I am starting 2012 by announcing a sale on many of my regular stock. I hope the sale prices will encourage you to buy more books and to buy multiple books at one time--so that more of you will take advantage of our reduced shipping on multiple books in one order. I also hope the sale prices will motivate you to buy sooner than you might otherwise. I have an unsuspecting selfish motive: a successful sale will free up space in my very tiny storage unit so that I can bring into inventory more books that are recently purchased or that will be purchased in buying trips planned in the near future.
Over the next six weeks--beginning with this list at the Dr. King holiday through Black History Month--I will update this blog with books recently acquired--many at sale prices 15% less than what they would regularly be priced. So buy soon and keep checking Now Rise for newly added selections. Sign in on the mailing list of this blog to get notices of new titles added. Please tell your friends and colleagues about us and, you know, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Warm regards to you all,
Lisa Monroe
Bookseller
Now Rise Books
View Now Rise Books on sale:
- Click on each title below to see more details about the book OR
- Browse all books posted so far at Now Rise Books on Amazon.com. [Update: our books are still on sale at Amazon, but we stopped paying for a dedicated page--the cost of doing business! Aug. 2012] Our regular inventory is on sale - most books are now reduced up to 15%.
- SAVE MONEY: Take advantage of our discounted shipping when you purchase multiples titles in the same order!
Just arrived NON-FICTION from $3.75
The Mis-Education of the Negro Carter G. Woodson (African American Images 2000 PB $3.75)
Martin Luther King Jr. (HarperSan Francisco 1992 PB $5)
The FBI and Martin Luther King Jr: From "Solo" to Memphis David J. Garrow (Norton 1981 PB $4)
Rehearsal for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment Jethro Koller Lieberman (Oxford UP 1976 PB $7.45)
The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925 Herbert George Gutman (Putnam 1976 HB $13.99)
Slaves Without Masters: The Free Negro in the Antebellum South Ira Berlin (Oxford UP 1981 PB $7.95)
Just arrived BIOGRAPHY / AUTOBIOGRAPHY from $4
John Adams David McCullough (Simon & Schuster 2001 HB $11.25)
Nigger Dick Gregory Pocket Books 1990 Mass Market $4)
Magic Johnson: My Life Earvin Johnson (Random House 1992 HB $7)
Angels Along the Way Della Reese (Putnam 1997 HB $7.95)
Secrets of a Sparrow Diana Ross (Villard 1993 HB $8.25)
Epic Lives: One Hundred Black Women Who Made a Difference Jessie Carney Smith (Visible Ink 1992 PB $9)
Just arrived FICTION & LITERATURE from $7.95
The Good Negress: A Novel A. J. Verdelle (Algonquin 1995 HB $7.95)
Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in America James A Emanuel (The Free Press 1968 HB $8.75)
This page was updated on August 18, 2012.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Canadian Esi Edugyan's novel is off the charts
Last year, the literary world just north of the U.S. border took notice of Edugyan Esi's novel, Half-Blood Blues. Esi, a 34 year-old Canadian-born author, won the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada's highest literary honor. The honor is sweetened by its accompanying $50,000 cash award. If that were not enough, Esi also found herself on the very select short list for the Man Booker award last year, Britain's most distinguished literary honor.
Half-Blood Blues has been called a "bold and original exploration of black jazz musicians in Hitler's Germany."
A recent article in The Vancouver Sun noted that "Half-Blood Blues quickly blossomed into one of Canadian literature's great success stories. Publisher Patrick Crean of Thomas Allen Publishers says his company printed 3,000 copies in August."
Esi's novel was off the charts of Canadian fiction sales: the article also says that "there are now 115,000 copies of Half-Blood Blues in print in Canada. In one week alone, 9,000 copies sold here. Such numbers are remarkable in a country where, if a book sells 5,000 copies, it is deemed a bestseller."
Picador will publish a U.S. edition of Half-Blood Blues in February.
Half-Blood Blues has been called a "bold and original exploration of black jazz musicians in Hitler's Germany."
A recent article in The Vancouver Sun noted that "Half-Blood Blues quickly blossomed into one of Canadian literature's great success stories. Publisher Patrick Crean of Thomas Allen Publishers says his company printed 3,000 copies in August."
Esi's novel was off the charts of Canadian fiction sales: the article also says that "there are now 115,000 copies of Half-Blood Blues in print in Canada. In one week alone, 9,000 copies sold here. Such numbers are remarkable in a country where, if a book sells 5,000 copies, it is deemed a bestseller."
Picador will publish a U.S. edition of Half-Blood Blues in February.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
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