TH RTY-SEVEN YEARS I BOXING ON OF PAPER “In Writin^ Is Fightin^ Ishmael — Reed one of our keenest ob- — servers does the unusual: he writes delicately about vulgarities in Ameri- can life and thought, especially racism, bourgeois greed, capitalist flimflam like neoconservatism, red- neck nationalism (the intellectual sort particularly), etc. His delicate script betrays love for what’s good — about the country too its honest and caring creators, both intellectual and institutional.” — Martin Kilson Harvard University Ishmael Reed is one of the most innovative and provocative voices in contemporary literature. — While his highly impressive corpus including seven novels, four books of poetry, and three plays—has placed Reed at the forefront of black fiction, he has also gained national prominence as one of the most outspoken critics of our time. This gathering of his essays, book reviews, and editorials brings us into the ring ofdebate where Reed boxes his best match against American culture. Here he moves in on the very premises of popular opinion to discuss society as he knows it: the state of black literature, illiteracy, black identity and the media, cultural pluralism and — the modern political system the ills and industry of Ronald Reagan, Jesse Jackson, and their parties. Stepping into this country’s blind spot, hejabs with tremendous effect at the problem of drug abuse in his hometown of Oakland, California. From there Reed moves with ease to a meditation on Harvard Yard and (Continued on backflap) Oepartment of Ubfaries Mldstate Regional Libraiy RFD #4 Box 1870 I.WW Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/detaiis/writinisfightintOOreed By Ishmael Reed Essays Writin’ Plightin’ Is God Made Alaska for the Indians New Shrovetide in Orleans l\ovels Reekless Eyeballing The Terrible Twos Flight to Canada The Last Days of Louisiana Red Munibo Jumbo Yellow Back Radio Broke Down The Free Lance Pall Bearers Poetry D Catechism of Neoamerican Hoodoo Church A Secretary to the Spirits Chattanooga Conjure Plays Mother Hubbard, formerly Hell Hath No Fury d’he Ace Boons Savage Wilds Xntholofiiies Calafia Now 19 Necromancers from Television Productions Personal Problems A Word in Edgewise # i t II wr,.. I A Ishmael Reed Thirty -Seven Years of Boxing on Paper Atheneum / /Veir York / 1988 “My Oakland, There Is a There There,” Part 1, first appeared in California Magazine, March 1983. Part II appeared under the title “At Ground Zero in Oakland” in the San Francisco Examiner, March 1988. “The Christmas Spirit” first appeared in the OaklandTribune, December 1983. “America: The Multi-National Society” originally appeared in San Francisco Focus, December 1983. “300 Years of 1984” was delivered as a lecture as part of The George Orwell Series, Marin College, February 1984. “Hymietown Revisited” first appeared in California Magazine, October 1984. “Of One Blood, Two Men” originally appeared in the New York Times, 4 November 1984. “Dream Ticket” appeared under the title “Real Democrats Don't Eat Quiche” in The Nation, 6 April 1985. “How the Afrikaners Can Hold On” appeared under the title “Botha should take a tip on state-of-the-art apartheid from a real pro” in The Tribune, 23 August 1985. “Champion: Joe Louis, Black Hero in White —America” first appeared in The San Francisco Examiner, January 1986. “In Opposition Which State?” was delivered as a speech at the 48th International PEN Congress in New York City, 16 January 1986. “Hyped or Hip?” first appeared in California Magazine, March 1986. “Steven Spielberg Plays Howard Beach” originally appeared in New York Amsterdam News, January 1987. “August Wilson: The Dramatist as Bearer of Tradition” originally appeared in a somewhat different form in Connoisseur, March 1987. “Killer Illiteracy” first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner, November 1987. “America’s Color Bind: The Modeling of Minorities” first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner, November 1987. “Soyinka Among the Monoculturalists” first appeared in The New Theater Review, a publication of the Lincoln Center Theater, Summer 1987. © Copyright 1988 by Ishmael Reed. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, in- cluding photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Atheneum Macmillan Publishing Company 866 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022 Collier Macmillan Canada, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Reed, Ishmael, 1938- Writin’ is fightin’ 1. Title. PS3568.E365W75 1988 814'. 54 88-10555 ISBN 0-689-11975-5 Macmillan books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. For details, contact: Special Sales Director Macmillan Publishing Company 866 Third Avenue New York, N.Y. 10022 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America