Culture Surfing - Valetta Anderson looks for curb appeal

For Atlantans, few themes hit quite so close to home as real estate, which provides the catalyst for Hallelujah Street Blues, Atlanta playwright Valetta Anderson’s multigenerational play about one family’s struggle to preserve their Decatur home and neighborhood from area development. A former adjunct drama professor at Spelman College, Anderson has written many plays, with Essential Theatre staging her prize-winning Leaving Limbo in 2006. Hallelujah Street Blues has its world premiere July 11 at Horizon Theatre.

Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America by Lerone Bennett: “My favorite starting point for research on American history, this book’s time line and details of African-American contributions to every nuance of the U.S.A.’s development as a nation provide a view of America from within the black perspective.”

Antwone Fisher (on DVD): “Directed by Denzel Washington and featuring Derek Luke, Malcolm David Kelley and, of course, Denzel, Antwone Fisher moves from childhood tragedy to adult growth and victory, through the prism of one black male caring for another. A must-see.

The Hand I Fan With by Tina McElroy Ansa: “This powerful love story — with a ghost — proves erotic without being ‘dirty’ and stays a page-turner through to the end.”

Belly of the Sun by Cassandra Wilson: “On this CD, Ms. Wilson’s rich voice and jazzy style reinterpret songs of yesterday into listening pleasure for today and tomorrow.”

Wild Seed by Octavia Butler: “Anything by Ms. Butler is awesome, but if you’ve not read her work in science fiction and fantasy, Wild Seed is the place to begin.”