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3.0 

Notes from a Black Woman's Diary

By Kathleen Collins & Nina Lorez Collins &
Notes from a Black Woman's Diary by Kathleen Collins & Nina Lorez Collins &  digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

“A sweeping picture of a mega-talent who was overlooked during her lifetime.” —Vanity Fair

Relatively unknown during her life, Kathleen Collins emerged on the literary scene in 2016 with the posthumous publication of the short-story collection Whatever Happened to Interracial Love? Said Zadie Smith, “To be this good and yet to be ignored is shameful, but her rediscovery is a great piece of luck for us.”

That rediscovery continues in Notes from a Black Woman’s Diary, which spans genres to reveal the breadth and depth of the late author’s talent. The compilation is anchored by more of Collins’s striking short stories. Also collected here is the work Collins wrote for the screen and stage, including the screenplay of her pioneering film Losing Ground and the script for The Brothers, which powerfully illuminate the particular joys, challenges, and heartbreaks rendered by the African American experience. And finally, it is in Collins’s raw and prescient diaries that her nascent ideas about race, gender, marriage, and motherhood first play out on the page.

By turns empowering, exuberant, sexy, and poignant, Notes from a Black Woman’s Diary is a brilliant compendium of the works of an inimitable talent, and a rich portrait of a writer hard at work.

“Dazzling. . . . [Collins’] voice and vision are idiosyncratic and pitiless, combining mischief and crisp authority, formal experimentation and deep feeling . . . [A] stylish, morally disheveling work.” —New York Times

“Collins proves her literary power across mediums.” —Time

“Searing commentary on race and gender.” —Library Journal, starred review

“A timely reclamation of a remarkable voice.” —Booklist

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8 Reviews

3.0
“This book was kind of all over the place. I enjoyed the stories, letters and notes from her diary but the transitions between were nonexistent and quite jarring. It made this book difficult to enjoy in my opinion. I was not a big fan of the screenplays. I enjoy reading plays but I believe I would’ve only enjoyed watching these screenplays.”
“I want to preface this to say that this had some great stories in it and the letters were really interesting.  It is a collected works so it's a little bit of everything. It has letters that she wrote, short stories, and also screen plays. I loved the letters and stories. I can't really say with the screen plays because I couldn't get lost in them. That means nothing about the quality of the work, they all seemed interesting. I just couldn't enjoy the format. But if you enjoy reading screen plays then you should pick up this collection for sure.”

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