We interrupt the regular programming here at My American Meltingpot, to bring you this latest news from the publishing world.
Lori Tharps' memoir, Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain arrives in bookstores (and Target) today. The book is a racial coming of age story, a travel essay and a love story. It is one woman's journey to find her "Authentically Black" self, hopscotching from her native Milwaukee, to Morocco and Spain and a few more places in between. Along the way she falls in love with a Spaniard, gets married and uncovers a hidden history of African slavery in the cities of southern Spain.
It is a unique story that will hopefully make you laugh aloud, but at the same time reconsider what Race really means.
To purchase your very own copy of Kinky Gazpacho, try Amazon.com or Powell's Books. To read more about Kinky Gazpacho or author Lori L. Tharps, check out her website.
Peace!
24 comments:
Congratulations!!! Can't wait to pick up my copy. You give me hope for my manuscripts, which have been collecting dust (and not much else) lately.
Natasha,
Thanks for the note and yes you better dust off those manuscripts. The rest of the world needs to hear your voice!
It's next on my list. I can't to get my hands on it. Congrats!
Mango Mama,
Thanks for the love. Hope you enjoy the book!
I read the book in a day, and it was amazing. I could not put it down. Your book helped me to find my own voice-and to celebrate my own story.
Thank you so much for sharing your words with the world.
Angela,
Awww geez. Thank you so much. I am so happy the book meant that much to you.
Best of luck to you.
I'm thoroughly enjoying your book! I can relate to your story on many levels! Heart wrenching and laugh out loud funny! you're so good at writing from your childhood point of view and then to your adulthood. Looking forward to more from you. Congrats!
Oh, and if you do a book tour, please come to Oakland or San Francisco!
-Farah
Farah,
Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
And thanks for stopping by the Meltingpot. I'm trying to get to Cali in June. Check out my website, www.loritharps.com for updates to my tour schedule.
congratulations! I'm looking forward to reading this.
Loved it!! I read your book in one afternoon. I just posted a note about it on my blog.
CONGRATS!!!
i was in Borders & i saw it and i was like....wait! i KNOW her (in a blog sort of way! lol).
i'm so happy for you!
CC: Thanks! And I hope you enjoy it (and maybe add it to your fantastic library lists!)
Ragazza (BTW, i just found out what Ragazza means!) Thanks for the love and the great posting on your blog. I'm seriously going grass roots with my publicity campaign. Obama Style. And I'm psyched to read Trey Ellis' book now too. Thanks for the tip!
Prisoner's Wife: Thank you. It's funny, I feel like I know all of you regular Meltingpot visitors too. I appreciate the love and support!
Lori,
I'm about 2/3 way finished with this book and I'm so excited. I can't believe how many things we have in common. I'm a middle class black girl (Jamaican parents) who grew up in the burbs of Cali and went to UCLA. Moved to NY after graduation and lived in Fort Greene for a year too. I too lived in Spain (Cordoba) in college and loved the experience and totally agree with you on the spainsh belief that everything Spanish is the best! For some reason my friend and I (who is also black) did not experience any overt racism in Spain when we were there in 2002 but I do remember the black males who were on our program did.
In any case, I could go on on and and I'm just so thankful you wrote this book. I connected and related to almost everything you wrote and its just good to hear about another black woman who went to college, study abroad and married out of her race. My boyfriend is Dominican (which to me is black and to others is debatable) but again, we connect on so many levels.
I'll be at your Park Slope reading in April and can't wait to meet you!
I am very excited to read Kinky Gazpacho! You came to speak for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and I really enjoyed meeting you and hearing more about you. Good luck in all your endeavors!
This is so exciting! Congratulations to you. I am sure you've got to be on cloud nine!
Hey Anon,
I can't wait to meet you in Park Slope too, my sister from another mother! Seriously, I wrote this book b/c I wanted to read it myself about 10 years ago. I knew there had to be more Black girls like me out there in the world!
Hi Nikeshia,
It was great meeting you too. Good luck with law school and I hope you enjoy the book!
Los Angelista,
Thanks! It is pretty cool.
This sounds great; I found the link to your site from lightskinnedgirl's blog (which I found in a google search). I'm a black woman from NYC (now in Portland, Ore.) who has traveled to Spain twice, Guatemala, and Cuba (I'm half Cuban). I am married to a Japanese Mexican American. Can't wait to read your book - will look for it at Powell's toda)!
p.s. Wow - I just read your review at Powells.com. I had no idea that you also wrote Hair Story, which I read some years ago! Congrats!
Stayed up until 2am this weekend finishing the book! What a great read. You've brought to light a completely different type of Black girl (or less commonly known.) But we're out there and I'm glad you told your story because it helps us further express our own. I related to you on so many experiences. Not enough time to detail but I loved it!
PS - My friend and I left for Spain the same date you did a few years later. I thought that was pretty cool :o)
H Sofia,
Thanks for the props. I hope you like Kinky G!
N. Roberts,
It's so good to hear that there really are others out there who understand my journey. Maybe we should start a club:)
Thanks to both of you for stopping by!
I'm reading this book now. It has so many moments in it that remind me of my own experiences here and in Europe.
I loved every inch of this book...the title, the map and the picture on front of the jacket, the print type and even the paper texture as I turned each page.I must say I was disappointed when I finished the last page of the book....I wanted to read more and more and more. I wanted to know why your mother-in-law didn't share her doll at your first meeting with her? I wanted to know if you ever show any Africian features on any Spanish faces you encountered while in that area of Spain. I initially bought the book for my daughter's birthday,but when I read a few lines I was captivated. I read the book in one day. My daugther is a dual major in Spanish & Pharmaceutical Studies. She will also have a third major in English. She was due to go to Toledo, Spain (approx 100 miles outside of Madrid) this summer. She didn't feel her Spanish writing skills were on the level it should be at this time. Once she reads this book, I know she will see if she you can be booked to come to her college in OHIO. I think there should be a sequel to Kinky Gazpacho with a title just as thought provoking. Thank you so much for writing this book and sharing with other African derived Americans that slavery was a business for profit all over the world.Is this book going to be translated in Spanish?
I will now go back and read some of your other writings.
Dena
Brigitte,
Thanks for writing and I hope you liked the rest of the book.
Anon,
Wow! Thanks for the love and encouragement. I hope your daughter loves Toledo. It's a beautiful town/city.
And a Kinky sequel? Hmmmm....:)
This book is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing your story with the world.
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