Tenderheaded: a Comb-bending Collection of Hair Stories (Revised)

Brief Description: Ranging from the shaving of newborns to the coiffing of the dead, from the anecdotal to the scholarly, and from antebellum America to contemporary Africa, this remarkable array of writings and images illuminates black women's hair and its cultural meaning. Review Quotes: "The Washington PostBecause of the variety of voices in "Tenderheaded...the book has a feeling of breadth and nuance. Review Quotes: "Boston Herald" An outstanding volume!Review Quotes: "Boston Herald"An outstanding volume!Review Quotes: "Essence"Ought to be at the top of everyone's must-read list. Review Quotes: "The Boston Herald"Peter Harris' piece...is just one gem in this outstanding volume. Review Quotes: "Heart and Soul"A must-read that unravels our deep-rooted history and relationship with hair. Review Quotes: "The Washington Post"Because of the variety of voices in "Tenderheaded,.".the book has a feeling of breadth and nuance. Review Quotes: "The Times-Picayune" (New Orleans) Perfectly captures black people's progress (or lack of it) on the hair issue.... Valuable and enlightening to anyone who is tenderheaded in one way or another. Review Quotes: "Black Issues Book Review"It's time to get down to the nappy truth about all the pros and cons of black hair. Harris and Johnson's 'comb-bending collection' is a tell-it-like-it-is compilation of essays that give insight into what we and others think about it, the history behind our hair, and how it affects our lives. Review Quotes: "Publishers Weekly"This remarkable array of writings and images illuminates black women's hair and its cultural meaning.... Beyond the variety of contributors and the provocative quotes and historical tidbits sprinkled between the entries, it's the wealth of feeling rooted in hair that makes this volume so compelling. With its (s)nappy jacket and generous helpings of art and photos, this mini-encyclopedia should attract an avid audience. Review Quotes: "Essence"Ought to be at the top of everyone's must-read list. Review Quotes: "The Boston Herald"Peter Harris' piece...is just one gem in this outstanding volume. Review Quotes: "Heart and Soul"A must-read that unravels our deep-rooted history and relationship with hair. Review Quotes: "The Washington Post"Because of the variety of voices in "Tenderheaded,.".the book has a feeling of breadth and nuance. Review Quotes: "The Times-Picayune" (New Orleans) Perfectly captures black people's progress (or lack of it) on the hair issue.... Valuable and enlightening to anyone who is tenderheaded in one way or another. Review Quotes: "Black Issues Book Review"It's time to get down to the nappy truth about all the pros and cons of black hair. Harris and Johnson's 'comb-bending collection' is a tell-it-like-it-is compilation of essays that give insight into what we and others think about it, the history behind our hair, and how it affects our lives. Review Quotes: "Publishers Weekly"This remarkable array of writings and images illuminates black women's hair and its cultural meaning.... Beyond the variety of contributors and the provocative quotes and historical tidbits sprinkled between the entries, it's the wealth of feeling rooted in hair that makes this volume so compelling. With its (s)nappy jacket and generous helpings of art and photos, this mini-encyclopedia should attract an avid audience. Review Quotes: "Black Issues Book Review" It's time to get down to the nappy truth about all the pros and cons of black hair. Harris and Johnson's 'comb-bending collection' is a tell-it-like-it-is compilation of essays that give insight into what we and others think about it, the history behind our hair, and how it affects our lives. Review Quotes: "The Boston Herald" Peter Harris' piece...is just one gem in this outstanding volume. Review Quotes: "The Washington Post" Because of the variety of voices in "Tenderheaded"...the book has a feeling of breadth and nuance. Review Quotes: "Publishers Weekly" This remarkable array of writings and images illuminates black women's hair and its cultural meaning.... Beyond the variety of contributors and the provocative quotes and historical tidbits sprinkled between the entries, it's the wealth of feeling rooted in hair that makes this volume so compelling. With its (s)nappy jacket and generous helpings of art and photos, this mini-encyclopedia should attract an avid audience. Review Quotes: "Essence" Ought to be at the top of everyone's must-read list. Review Quotes: "The Times-Picayune" (New Orleans) Perfectly captures black people's progress (or lack of it) on the hair issue.... Valuable and enlightening to anyone who is tenderheaded in one way or another. Review Quotes: "Heart and Soul" A must-read that unravels our deep-rooted history and relationship with hair. Table of Contents: Contents Ms. Strand Calls a Press Conference Peace Be Still NTOZAKE SHANGE Heads of Steam Madam C. J. Walker: "Let Me Correct the Erroneous Impression That I Claim to Straighten Hair" A'LELIA BUNDLES The Hairdresser and the Scholar MARK HIGBEE Severed ANNABELLE BAKER It All Comes Down to the Kitchen HENRY LOUIS GATES JR. The Kink That Winked CYNTHIA COLBERT Tenderheaded, or Rejecting the Legacy of Being Able to Take It MEG HENSON SCALES Baby Hair Baby Hair CONSTANCE NICHOLS A Day at the Beach KAY BROWN Learning the Language of My Daughter's Hair PETER HARRIS Hair (R)evolution CYNTHIA COLBERT Things My Mother Never Taught Me JACQUELYN LONG Tenderheaded NIKKY FINNEY Cornrow Calculations (or Math Is Beauty) TONI WYNN Store-Bought Hair Fake GERRIE SUMMERS Planet Hair LISA JONES Hair Braiding, Miss? TAIIA SMART Madam Speaks MARK RICHARD MOSS Straight Talk Relax Your Mind! JENYNE M. RAINES When Black Hair Tangles with White Power MARIAME KABA Hot Comb NATASHA TRETHEWEY Straightening Our Hair BELL HOOKS A Rio Crime LAURA SULLIVAN A Short History of Early Hair Straightening WILLIE MORROW All-Time Top Hair Divas JENYNE RAINES Wrappers' Delight Under Cover HALIMA TAHA Grandma Blows Her Top GLORIA WADE GAYLES Uplift LIDDY JONES Bandanna MICHAEL D. HARRIS The Culture of Hair Sculpture JULIETTE HARRIS Pillow Talk If You Let Me Make Love to You, Then Why Can't I Touch Your Hair? CHERILYN "LIV" WRIGHT Battle of the Wigs GEORGE C. WOLFE White Boyfriend EVANGELINE WHEELER Hagar's Blues TONI MORRISON Dekar's Touch PAMELA JOHNSON When Worlds Collide The Curse (and Redemption) of Short Hair THOMAS "TAIWO" DUVALL Hair Hysteria S. PEARL SHARP Afro Images: Politics, Fashion and Nostalgia ANGELA Y. DAVIS Daughters of Africa EVANGELINE WHEELER On Short Nappy Hair and the Business of Blackness: From Ohio to South Africa PAITRA D. RUSSELL Smooth Heated Stones and Sunlight Soap ROSALIE KIAH Crowning Glories: Hair, Head, Style, and Substance in Yoruba Culture PHOTOS AND TEXT BY HENRY JOHN DREWAL No Longer Stranded IDARA E. BASSEY Silver Foxes My Smart Gray Streak YVONNE DURANT Attitude at Seventy-Five NAOMI LONG MADGETT In Her Hair S. PEARL SHARP Homage to My Hair LUCILLE CLIFTON Something's Lost in Living Every Day LEATHA SIMMONS MITCHELL She Who Mirrors Me RUBY DEE Gray Strands NAOMI LONG MADGETT Locks and Keys Don't Even Pretend (The Saturn Poem) PETER HARRIS In the Kitchen JEWELLE GOMEZ The Call TAMARA JEFFRIES Clean Break JILL NELSON My Bold Black Statement SUSAN L. TAYLOR Post-Traumatic Tress Syndrome DENISE L. DAVIS, M. D. In Sickness and in Health FRANKIE ALEXANDER Oppressed Hair Puts a Ceiling on the Brain ALICE WALKER A Happy Nappy Hair-Care Affair LINDA JONES Ms. Strand Adjourns About the ContributorsPublisher Marketing: Speaking out on the cultural implications of African-American women and their hair, an illustrated, provocative anthology of essays, poems, cartoons, photographs, drama, and fiction excerpts features contributions from Angela Davis, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Ntozake Shange, Ruby Dee, and Henry Lo Review Citations:

Black Issues Book Review 03/01/2002 pg. 37 (EAN 9780671047566, Paperback)

Contributor Bio:  Harris, Juliette Juliette Harris (right) is the editor of "International ReviJuliette Harris (right) is the editor of "International Review of African-American Art, " published by Hampton Universitew of African-American Art, " published by Hampton University Museum in Virginia. She has also written award-winning tely Museum in Virginia. She has also written award-winning television and film documentaries. evision and film documentaries. Contributor Bio:  Johnson, Pamela Pamela Johnson collaborated on three other titles, such as And Then There was One: The Mysteries of Extinction. SHe lives in Sedgewick, Maine. Contributor Bio:  Shange, Ntozake Ntozake Shange is a renowned playwright, poet, and novelist. Her works include the Obie Award-winning for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, Liliane, Betsey Brown, and Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo. Among her honors and awards are fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Lila Wallace-Reader s Digest Fund and a Pushcart Prize. A graduate of Barnard and recipient of a Masters in American Studies from University of Southern California, she lives in Brooklyn. Contributor Bio:  Johnson, Pamela Pamela Johnson, a former senior editor of Essence magazine and now a frequent contributor, is a graduate of Stanford University. She is the co-author of the novel Santa & Pete. She lives in New York City.