Books by Louis Reyes Rivera

Sanchocho: A Book of Nuyorican Poetry / Scattered Scripture / Bum Rush the Page

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The Bandana Republic

A Literary Anthology by Gang Members and Their Affiliates

Edited by Louis Reyes Rivera and Bruce George

Bandana Republic Anthology

Debuts @ Hue-Man Book Store & Café

Monday, June 9, 2008, at 6pm 

2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd. (125th St.), Harlem

(between 125th & 124th)

 Hosted by Victor “Gotti” Cherry

New York, NY – 28 May 2008 – On Monday evening, June 9, at 6 p.m., the Harlem-based Hue-Man Book Store & Café will host the first of a series of book signings for The Bandana Republic: a Literary Anthology By Gang Members and Their Affiliates (Soft Skull Press, NY). With its release to bookstores throughout the U.S. barely underway, this 265-page collection is already a hot subject on Internet Radio and on-line venues.

Already hailed as the most provocative and powerful literary work yet to hit the stands this year, The Bandana Republic is the first full-length anthology that features writings from both former and current urban gang members. Intergenerational in scope, the work consists of over 125 entries, including letters, essays, poems, short stories and interviews by a solid array of social workers, activists, teachers, gang leaders, artists, writers, film and stage celebrities from New York to California and beyond. Co-edited by award-winning poets Louis Reyes Rivera (Scattered Scripture; Bum Rush the Page, et al) and Bruce George (a Peabody recipient for HBO’s Def Poetry Jam), the anthology also features a foreword by movie star and NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown (founder of Amer-I-Can Program and Foundation, an organization exclusively devoted to urban youth).

The book is divided into six sections, each focusing on specific aspects of lifestyle and social conditions likely to engage urban youth. The initial sections (Battleground, Telling The Tale and On The Count) fully lay out the evolutionary process borne by many, from initiation and gangbanging to prison terms and self-education. The next two sections (The Politics We See and Hard Love) continue the process with more focus on both the political and personal aspects of social consciousness which actually pervades throughout the book and culminates in the final section (New Leaves Turning), in which communal and social responsibility are more fully engaged.

Hosted by Bandana contributor Victor ‘Gotti’ Cherry, the June 9th celebration at Hue-Man Books (2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd, at 125 Street) begins at 6 p.m., with several other contributors on hand. This is followed by tandem appearances scheduled to take place at the Los Angeles Black Book Festival on June 14, and at the Nuyorican Poets Café on Tuesday, June 24 (7 p.m.). For further information, contact via internet websites: www.softskull.com; myspace.com/thebandanarepublic.

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More About the Book

Urban youth gangs and street associations are viewed more often than not as training grounds for thugs and felons. Left out are their members' emotional sensitivities, their political consciousness, their individual and collective capacities to assess the social conditions that gave rise to the need for such associations. Not included in the popular dialogue on gangs is the creative impulse that has continued to manifest in popular culture--from the birth of the Blues to Rag Time and Swing, to BeBop, Doo Wop and Hip Hop. From the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to the Black Panther Party, Brown Berets, Young Lords and Brownstone Rangers to the height of the Civil Rights Movement to our current Hip Hop culture, urban gang rhetoric and its symbolisms have informed almost every major social movement of this century. They have also played a role in protecting neighborhoods, initiating food and clothing drives and in taking on housing-related issues such as gentrification.

The Bandana Republic, A Literary Anthology by Gang Members and Their Affiliates, edited by Louis Reyes Rivera and Bruce George with a foreword by Jim Brown focuses on creative literature written by adolescents from such former and contemporary gangs as Chaplains, Bishops, Sportsmen, Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings, Black Spades, Neta, Black Gangster Disciples and others. Includes work by former gang members who have gone beyond gangbanging and into the social and cultural arenas. The anthology showcases writing by Alicia Benjamin-Samuels, Oscar Brown Jr., Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr., Commander, Comrade X, Layding Kaliba, Dead Prez, Ruby Dee, Shaggy Flores, Erica Ford, The Last Poets, Jesus Papoleto Melendez, Akua Njeri, Willie Perdomo, T. Rodgers, Luis J. Rodriguez, Leila Steinberg, Kublai Toure, Ted Wilson, Malik Yoba, and others, many of whom have either come from urban gangs or were closely affiliated with street-based organizations

Like many adolescents, they initially attached themselves to the available rough-n-tumble street role models, becoming active gang members and adopting the ways of the street. Inside of this framework, and in spite of the stereotypical conventional wisdom concerning street gangs, they were also reared into the creative aspirations of their respective communities. Not just dancing and styling, but reading and studying, learning to develop the gall to give voice to the voice.

excerpts from the Introduction

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The Bandana Republic

 a Literary Anthology By Gang Members and Their Affiliates

Contents

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Louis Reyes Rivera is among the more respected underground poets, having assisted in the publication of over 200 books. Known as the Janitor of History and a living bridge between African and Latino Americans, he has taught courses on Pan-African, African-American, Caribbean, and Puerto Rican literature and history, as well as Creative Writing. In addition to solo recitals and lectures, he has worked with jazz bands.

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Bruce George is a visionary, executive producer, writer, poet, and activist born and raised in NYC. He has written testimonials for the likes of Essence, Emerge, and Class magazines, Harlem River Press, and others.

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Source: http://www.softskull.com/detailedbook.php?isbn=1-933368-27-6

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posted 22 May 2008