Anthologies of African American Writing

Talk That Talk: An Anthology of African-American Storytelling

"Talk That Talk: An Anthology of African-American Storytelling". Ed. Linda Goss and Marian E. Barnes. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989. 521 pp.

• Preface (with commentary by Pearl E. Primus)
• Henry Louis Gates, Jr. / Introduction

I. When the Animals Talked: Animal Tales and Fables
Stories:
• William J. Faulkner / Brer Tiger and the Big Wind
• Arthur Huff Fauset / No Tracks Coming Back
• Annie Reed / Brer Rabbit and the Briar Patch
• Zora Neale Hurston / King of de World
• Jermiah Nabawi / Why Anansi Hides in Corners
• Louise Bennett / Anancy an Him Story
• Marian E. Barnes / Anansi's Riding Horse
• Ramona Bass / Rooster and Roach
• Constance García-Barrio / The Ant Story
• Ardie Stuart Brown / Why the Rabbit Is Alert
• Mary Umolo / Brer Rabbit and Buh King
• Linda Goss / The Frog Who Wanted to Be a Singer
• Hugh Morgan Hill / The Butterfly
• Kwasi Asare / Don't Play with Your Supper
• Naomi Clarke / Bush Got Ears
• Rita Cox / How Trouble Made the Monkey Eat Pepper
• Louise Anderson / Uglier Than a Grinning Buzzard
• Jerdine Nolen Harold / The Story of Skunk and Why He Has Such a Bad Smell
• Julius Lester / How the Snake Got His Rattles
• Gerald J. A. Nwankwo / A Tunnel to Our Ancestors
• Edward Robinson / The Story of the Eagle
Commentaries:
• Houston A. Baker, Jr. / Animal Tales and Lore
• Ivan Van Sertima / Trickster, the Revolutionary Hero

II. Like It Was: History Remembered
• Jack Maddox and Rosa Maddox / How We Got Over
• William J. Faulkner / How the Slaves Helped Each Other
• Mariline Wilkins / Harriet Tubman Is in My Blood
• Frankie Quimby and Doug Quimby / The Ibo Landing Story
• Naomi Clarke / A Pioneer's Story of Long Creek, Guyana
• Sterling Brown / An Old Woman Remembers
• Martin Luther King, Jr. / The Violence of Desperate Men
• Amelia Platts Boynton Robinson / Bloody Sunday
• Ada DeBlanc Simond / Looking Back at My Texas Heritage
• Winnie Mandela / Solitary Confinement
• Haywood T. "The Kid" Kirkland / Vietnam Blues
Commentary:
• D'jimo Kouyate / The Role of the Griot

III. Preaching the Word: Sermons
Sermons:
• James Weldon Johnson / The Creation
• C. L. Franklin / The Prodigal Son
• Carl J. Anderson, collected by Gerald L. Davis / Ezekiel and the Vision of Dry Bones
Commentaries:
• William H. Wiggins, Jr. / The Black Preacher as Storyteller
• Beverly Robinson / Historical Arenas of African American Storytelling

IV. Love Who Loves You: Traditional and Contemporary Stories of Family and Home
Stories:
• Jackie Torrence / The Case of the Missing Strawberry Pie
• Linda Goss / I Cannot Tell a Lie Peach Cobbler Pie
• Lawanda Randall / Annie, the Bully
• Yolanda D. King, in collaboration with Hilda R. Tompkins / Daddy
• Chinua Achebe / Death of a Boy
• A. C. Jordan / Sikhamba-nge-nyanga
• Jamal Koram / The Lion and the Ashiko Drum
• Wacira Gethaiga / Warugunga
• Kwasi Asare / River and the Foolish One
• Nikki Giovanni / Don't Have a Baby Till You Read This
• Ruby Dee / Aunt Zurletha
• Sonia Sanchez / Just Don't Never Give Up on Love
• Linda Goss / Song for My Mother, Prayer for My Father
• Langston Hughes / Aunt Sue's Stories
Commentary:
• Kathryn L. Morgan / Caddy Buffers: Legends of a Middle Class Black Family in Philadelphia

V. The Bogey Man's Gonna Git You: Tales of Ghosts and Witches
Stories:
• Paul Laurence Dunbar / The Boogah Man
• Constance García-Barrio / The Monkey Woman
• William J. Faulkner / The Ways of a Witch
• Alice McGill / The Two Sons
• Alice McGill / Miss Venora
• Wanda Gigettes / The White Dog
• Janie Hunter / Barney McKay
• Eleanora E. Tate / Daddy and the Plat-Eye Ghost
• Jackie Torrence / Kate, the Bell Witch
• Louise Anderson / Taily Po
• Paul Keens-Douglas / Jumbie, Duppy, an' Spirit
• Arthur Huff Fauset / Big Fear and Little Fear
• Margaret Walker / Ballad of the Hoppy-Toad
• Janice N. Harrington / The Devil's Dulcimer
Commentary:
• Constance García-Barrio / Creatures That Haunt the Americas

VI. "Shut My Mouth Wide Open": Humorous Tales and Anecdotes
• Zora Neale Hurston / Jack and de Devil
• J. Mason Brewer / A Laugh That Meant Freedom
• John Henrik Clarke / The Lying Bee
• Daniel Barnes / Good and Drunk
• Langston Hughes / Rock, Church
• John Henrik Clarke / Revolt of the Angels
• Tejumola F. Ologboni / Two Kinds of Women
• Mary CarterSmith / Cindy Ellie, a Modern Fairy Tale
• Elaine Warren-Jacobs / Si Mary Bigfoot
• T. Obinkaram Echewa / Umu Madu in the Good Old Days
• J. California Cooper / Liberated
• Dick Gregory / February
Commentary:
• Larry G. Coleman / Storytelling and Comic Performance

VII. Ah-la-dee-da-dee-bop-de-bop : Raps, Rhythms, and Rhymes in the Storytelling Tradition
Rhymes:
• Paul Laurence Dunbar / The Party
• Traditional / Jump Rope Rhymes
• Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter) / John Henry; The Tale of Boll Weevil
• Mlanjeni Nduma / The Legend of Dolemite
• Oscar Brown Jr. / Signifyin' Monkey
• Paul Keens-Douglas / De Wedding
• Maya Angelou / Weekend Glory
• Sterling Brown / The Ballad of Joe Meek
• Eloise Greenfield / Harriet Tubman
• Sharon Jordan Holley / African-American History Rap
• Douglass "Jocko" Henderson / Get Ready, Inc.
• Linda Goss / Spread the Word: A Storyteller's Rap
Commentaries:
• Marian E. Barnes / The Georgia Sea Island Singers: Frankie and Doug Quimby
• Molefi Kete Asante / Folk Poetry in the Storytelling Tradition

Biographical Notes
For Further Reading
Index of Stories for Children
Author and Title Index

• "Overflowing with wisdom and humor, here is a comprehensive collection of favorite tales from the vigorous and vibrant oral tradition of African American folklore. Transcending a history of oppression and struggle, Black storytelling is an expression of great social complexity and profound aesthetic significance. Woven into its fabric is the essence of Black language, lifestyle, and survival. Talk That Talk contains close to one-hundred stories by famous storytellers from America, Africa, and the Caribbean--plus insightful commentaries from historians and critics. Gathered here is a tremendous range of authentic stories-- from animal tales and cherished legends to poems, raps, sermons, and heroic biographies--making this book delightful and important reading for all ages. Among the storytellers included are Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Zora Neale Hurston, Dick Gregory, Leadbelly, Langston Hughes, Winnie Mandela, and Martin Luther King, Jr."

• Biographical note on Linda Goss.

A0593