by Jeffery Battersby | Feb 3, 2015 | Books
I was heartbroken for a brief moment when I saw Harper Lee’s name in breaking news. Now… pretty happy. Harper Lee, Author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ Is to Publish a Second Novel | via NY Times
by Jeffery Battersby | May 28, 2014 | Asides, Books
Maya Angelou Dies at 86 If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat.” —Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings And another from NPR.org. Maya Angelou brought about a...
by Jeffery Battersby | Aug 15, 2013 | Books, Featured
Kiese Laymon, from How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America: A Remembrance …Mama and I fight over my job at Cutco and her staying with her boyfriend and her not letting me use the car to get to my second job at an HIV hospice since my license is...
by Jeffery Battersby | Jan 11, 2010 | Books
My plight drove me to my typewriter. I sat before it, overwhelmed with grief for Arturo Bandini. Sometimes an idea floated harmlessly through the room. It was like a small white bird. It meant no ill-will. It only wanted to help me, dear little bird. But I would...
by Jeffery Battersby | Jan 7, 2010 | Books
I was passing the doorman of the Biltmore, and I hated him at once, with his yellow braids and six feet of height and all that dignity, and now a black automobile drove to the kerb and a  man got out. He looked rich; and then a woman got out, and she was beautiful,...
by Jeffery Battersby | Jan 7, 2010 | Books, Commentary, Featured, Reviews, Writing
I should state from the outset that I am not in the target demographic for Susy Flory’s So Long Status Quo. A quick glance at the back cover reveals who this book is aimed at and where it’s supposed to be shelved: Religion/Christian Life/Women’s Issues I...