I received it in exchange for an honest review. Venue: African American History and Culture Museum Event Location: Oprah Winfrey Theater Cost: FREE - Registration is strongly encouraged Get Tickets. I wish to thank NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Harris debated, celebrated, and danced her way from the jazz clubs of the Manhattan’s West Side to the restaurants of the Village, living out her buoyant youth alongside the great minds of the dayluminaries like Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison. It is a great look into her life and what life was like for an African American woman navigating the 70s/80s. In the technicolor glow of the early seventies, Jessica B.

The good news is the biography never actually drops into the name dropping place. This is an interesting biography that just slightly borders a bit of name dropping, but that is hard to avoid as she knew people like James Baldwin because of friends in her life. Then she herself becomes a famous cookbook author! When I found that out, the structure of the book made a whole lot more sense as each chapter ends with a recipe that reflects the chapter. Harris has had so many interactions with really famous African American authors of the 70s, whom she considered friends. More than a memoir of friendship and first love, My Soul Looks Back is a carefully crafted, intimately understood homage to a bygone era and the people that made it so remarkable.I have to admit that I had to look up who Jessica B Harris is as I was not familiar with her work, but the book description drove me to want to read the book. The book is framed by Harris' relationship with Sam Floyd, a fellow professor at Queens College, who introduced her to Baldwin. Harris describes her role as theater critic for the New York Amsterdam News and editor at then burgeoning Essence magazine star-studded parties in the South of France drinks at Mikell's, a hip West Side club and the simple joy these extraordinary people took in each other's company. Harris paints evocative portraits of her illustrious friends: Baldwin as he read aloud an early draft of If Beale Street Could Talk, Angelou cooking in her California kitchen, and Morrison relaxing at Baldwin's house in Provence. My Soul Looks Back is her paean to that fascinating social circle and the depth of their shared commitment to activism, intellectual engagement, and each other. Harris debated, celebrated, and danced her way from the jazz clubs of the Manhattan's West Side to the restaurants of the Village, living out her buoyant youth alongside the great minds of the day - luminaries like Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison. In the Technicolor glow of the early 70s, Jessica B.

My soul looks back jessica harris