my favorite author is definitely jack kerouac. this guy wrote so much that he can be a bit hard to keep track of. on the road is really the best. i understand why people like dharma bums so much but thats a little heavy on the buddhism for me. i like desolation angels, thats the lesser known book of his that people really should catch on to. its one of his longer books and its divided into two parts. the first part has him alone in a watchtower looking for forest fires on a mountain, the second part has him coming down and returning to the real world. its the second part that i love. hes going a little too crazy in the first part and sometimes its a bit much but the conclusion is well worth it.

it seems tho, that were talking african american lit. in this post.

my favorite in this genre is ishmael reed's mumbo jumbo. this book basically satirizes western/estern/african/european throughout all of history through a discussion of the emergence of the jazz age. in many ways its crazy as it sounds. the book is completely loaded with historical references and it can be tough to get through without an encyclopaedia, but even a casual read (or som strategic googling) is extremely worth the while. this book is deep funny and lyrical.

ishmael reed doesnt have that much else out there. ive read some of his poems and its not really my kind of stuff. he has a text book out there called from totems to hip hop. only had the chance to read the introductory essay and it was amazing but i dont have my own copy of this one.

i also love richard wright for his books and his essays. toni morrison never did it for me with sula and the bluest eye but i loved song of solomon. just learned first about gil scott heron last year- i love his poems, if you havent heard the full audio versions you are missing out on so much. definitely agree wiith whoever it was up there who said they didnt get maya angelou. read the inaugural poem and the cage bird sings as well as having seen some of her speeches. its just too much for me- it seems hokey and cliched.