The Black Notebooks: An Interior Journey

Rating:
Summary: Dark, wrenching story of woman tortured by her color
Review: It took me longer than usual to finish a book of this size. Inside of this little book was heart wrenching anguish and I just could not read it through without interruptions, reading other things and giving myself a rest.
Is Ms. Derracotte a victim of the tragic mulatto syndrome or is some of her anguish of her own making?

Coming from an upper class African American family that has kept the blood line "light and bright" for generations, the author's journey as a white- looking black woman comes to a climax when she moves to an all-white exclusive neighborhood in New York. It's not that they don't want her there, they just don't want her trying to assimilate into their way of life. The fact that she conducted the initial business of purchasing the house without her husband (he was more identifiable black, thus she participated in the " passing" game.) should have been a clue, nevertheless she was determined to make them accept her. And this is where I had conflict. Why would a black woman who was raised around other affluent blacks, accepted and identified as black, want to be in these people's country clubs and social circles? Why did she not avail herself to the groups that she grew up among, The Links, Jack and Jill, etc. and be happy where she would be accepted. Even as a poet/writer there are groups to belong, many of them interracial who will accept one on the basis of common goals.

More than a book on a woman conflicted by her blackness of lack thereof is the sad commentary on race identity and how America has pitted blacks among each other based on skin color going back to slavery. Nella Larson, Jessie Fauset, and Wallace Thurman and numerous other authors have written on the this issue of characters who are conflicted and the schizophrenic existence they live. Also how one's family views and upbringing affects how we feel about ourselves. When pride in one's race and self and not enough self-love is not stressed enough then we have these kind of stories. Some blacks of the author's background have similar stories, others do not go through this much drama.

I met Ms. Derracotte about three years ago when she was a writer-in-residence at Mills College here in Oakland. I went to her reading, met her and have to say that she seems more at peace with herself. She is a cofounder of a writers retreat for African American poets. In answer to one reviewer who asked what was the point of this book, I think the answer was this was a catharsis, a cleansing for her soul.

Rating:
Summary: Dark, wrenching story of woman tortured by her color
Review: It took me longer than usual to finish a book of this size. Inside of this little book was heart wrenching anguish and I just could not read it through without interruptions, reading other things and giving myself a rest.
Is Ms. Derracotte a victim of the tragic mulatto syndrome or is some of her anguish of her own making?

Coming from an upper class African American family that has kept the blood line "light and bright" for generations, the author's journey as a white- looking black woman comes to a climax when she moves to an all-white exclusive neighborhood in New York. It's not that they don't want her there, they just don't want her trying to assimilate into their way of life. The fact that she conducted the initial business of purchasing the house without her husband (he was more identifiable black, thus she participated in the " passing" game.) should have been a clue, nevertheless she was determined to make them accept her. And this is where I had conflict. Why would a black woman who was raised around other affluent blacks, accepted and identified as black, want to be in these people's country clubs and social circles? Why did she not avail herself to the groups that she grew up among, The Links, Jack and Jill, etc. and be happy where she would be accepted. Even as a poet/writer there are groups to belong, many of them interracial who will accept one on the basis of common goals.

More than a book on a woman conflicted by her blackness of lack thereof is the sad commentary on race identity and how America has pitted blacks among each other based on skin color going back to slavery. Nella Larson, Jessie Fauset, and Wallace Thurman and numerous other authors have written on the this issue of characters who are conflicted and the schizophrenic existence they live. Also how one's family views and upbringing affects how we feel about ourselves. When pride in one's race and self and not enough self-love is not stressed enough then we have these kind of stories. Some blacks of the author's background have similar stories, others do not go through this much drama.

I met Ms. Derracotte about three years ago when she was a writer-in-residence at Mills College here in Oakland. I went to her reading, met her and have to say that she seems more at peace with herself. She is a cofounder of a writers retreat for African American poets. In answer to one reviewer who asked what was the point of this book, I think the answer was this was a catharsis, a cleansing for her soul.

Rating:
Summary: A complex and nuanced memoir.
Review: The book is structured as a series of journal entries, but it is nevertheless carefully considered and constructed. It provides an unusual perspective on racism in America, from the perspective of a very light skinned African American woman. She recounts her experiences in vivid detail, and they are intellectually and emotionally powerful. Most importantly, Derricotte does not settle for simple analyses or easy answers, but lets the complexity of her life and her place in various communities come through, with all the attendant messiness. As such, I'm not surprised that this book has drawn widely disparate reviews from readers. I consider it DEFINITELY worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Tragic Mulatto or Human Target?
Review: Toi Derricotte is an African American poet with skin so light that she claims she's often mistaken for white.  What's more startling is that Terricotte isn't always upset when this happens.  We have heard discourse from other light-skinned African Americans about the dangers of passing, and more often than not, these people feel a need to be somehow more committed to 'the community' and 'the nation' than their darker-skinned compatriots. What we haven't heard is the voice of a woman who is conflicted about her own feelings about blackness, and how she distances herself from darker-skinned African Americans.

The Black Notebooks is a literary memoir written over the space of twenty years. In it Derricotte discusses the distance she places between herself and other darker-skinned African Americans, her obsession with joining an all-white country club even after her neighbors have made it perfectly clear that an invitation will never be forthcoming, as well as her experiences with being the only Black poet in residence at a well-known writer's colony.  Much in the way that GLBT people have coming out experiences wherein they disclose their sexual orientation, Derricotte has similar revealing moments when she has to reveal to whites that she is in fact African American.  

Rather than being exhausting, Derricotte's memoir is a brave reflection on how it feels to navigate safely (albeit not comfortably) between two worlds, and how this navigation affects her mental health. The book isn't written as a plea for understanding or acceptance, it simply is. Her honesty over her recalcitrant feelings is like nothing else I've ever seen, and for that reason alone, it's a worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: Tragic Mulatto or Human Target?
Review: Toi Derricotte is an African American poet with skin so light that she claims she's often mistaken for white.  What's more startling is that Terricotte isn't always upset when this happens.  We have heard discourse from other light-skinned African Americans about the dangers of passing, and more often than not, these people feel a need to be somehow more committed to 'the community' and 'the nation' than their darker-skinned compatriots. What we haven't heard is the voice of a woman who is conflicted about her own feelings about blackness, and how she distances herself from darker-skinned African Americans.

The Black Notebooks is a literary memoir written over the space of twenty years. In it Derricotte discusses the distance she places between herself and other darker-skinned African Americans, her obsession with joining an all-white country club even after her neighbors have made it perfectly clear that an invitation will never be forthcoming, as well as her experiences with being the only Black poet in residence at a well-known writer's colony.  Much in the way that GLBT people have coming out experiences wherein they disclose their sexual orientation, Derricotte has similar revealing moments when she has to reveal to whites that she is in fact African American.  

Rather than being exhausting, Derricotte's memoir is a brave reflection on how it feels to navigate safely (albeit not comfortably) between two worlds, and how this navigation affects her mental health. The book isn't written as a plea for understanding or acceptance, it simply is. Her honesty over her recalcitrant feelings is like nothing else I've ever seen, and for that reason alone, it's a worthwhile read.