Talk That Talk: An Anthology of African-American Storytelling

by Linda Goss

A compilation of tales from Afro-American folklore by storytellers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Nikki Giovanni, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Maya Angelou.

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, Zara Neale Hurston, Dick Gregory, Leadbelly, Langston Hughes, Winnie Mandela, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Genres: Nonfiction, African American, Anthologies

528 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1989

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

TAKEN FROM DUST JACKET----family stories and moral fables, raps and rhymes, memoirs and songs and stories and poems about freedom, protests,and change... So sorry This was from another book. Below is from this book:

Stories by famous yarn-spinners from the U.S.A.,Africa, and the Carribean.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a good variety of stories in here and some interesting analysis intermixed. It’s definitely worth a read. Lots inside.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a great collection of fables, essays, poems, sermons, and folk tales-- loved faulkner's brer rabbit, nikki's birth story, achebe's west african folklore, every one of the rhymes, it's definitely a book to own and return to.