 | |
| Author | Jessica B. Harris |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Autobiography |
| Genre | Memoir |
| Publisher | Scribner |
Publication date | 2017 |
| Pages | 255 |
| ISBN | 978-1-5011-2590-4 (Hardcover) |
My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir is a memoir by cookbook author and food historian Jessica B. Harris, [1] [2] particularly describing on her life and friendships with major black writers including James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, and Toni Morrison in New York City in the 1970s.
Publication history
Harris published the 255-page book with Scribner on March 9, 2017. [3]
Content and reception
Publishers Weekly described the book as "a lively, entertaining, and informative recounting of a time and place that shaped and greatly enriched American culture," [2] namely Harris's life as a young person in New York City in the 1970s amid black authors including James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, and Toni Morrison; Harris was introduced to this circle through her romantic relationship with Sam Floyd, Baldwin's best friend. [4] Reviewing the book for The New York Times, critic Dwight Garner described it as having a "simmering warmth" and "was never, to this reader, uninteresting" even if it also had a "softness of focus", suggesting at times the book fails to "recall the best lines and jokes" from the literati Harris describes. [5]
References
- ^ Evans, Dayna (May 9, 2017). "What It Was Like to Live Among James Baldwin and Maya Angelou in 1970s New York". The Cut. New York Magazine. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Nonfiction Book Review: My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir by Jessica B. Harris. Scribner, $25 (272p) ISBN 978-1-5011-2590-4". Publishers Weekly. March 27, 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ "MY SOUL LOOKS BACK by Jessica B. Harris". Kirkus Reviews. March 2, 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ Larson, Susan (May 22, 2017). "Soul stirrer: In new memoir, culinary historian Jessica Harris looks back at a life well lived". The Advocate. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
- ^ Garner, Dwight (9 May 2017). "'My Soul Looks Back' Warmly Recalls New York's Black Elite in the 1970s". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
External links
- My Soul Looks Back at Simon & Schuster