Bronx Biannual Issue No. 1: The Journal of Urbane Literature

By Miles Marshall Lewis

Bronx Biannual is the most important literary journal in hip-hop America--an intellectual town hall on paper that rejects the cheerleader tone of celebrity-driven urban publications, as well as the highfalutin tone of academic publications.

Miles Marshall Lewis was born in the Bronx in 1970 and currently splits his time between New York City and Paris, France. He is the author of Scars of the Soul Are Why Kids Wear Bandages When They Don't Have Bruises (Akashic, 2004), and is a former editor of Vibe and XXL. His work has been published in the Nation, the Source, the Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Essence, and other magazines.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1933354046
• ISBN13: 9781933354040
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Akashic Books, Ltd.
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.9" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A strong start for a new literary journal

This first issue of Bronx Biannual features an array of writers -- talented music journalists like Michael Gonzales, veteran fiction writers like Adam Mansbach and one of hip-hop's finest, KRS-One. My favorite piece is "Nothing Can Remain Unchanged," a short story by emerging fiction writer Dana Crum. The descriptions in the story put me right there, and the psychological portrayals of the different characters made me care about them and their struggles. Though the story thoroughly depicts the inner city, it also deals with those universal themes (friendship, abandonment, change) that unite us all. As for the first issue as a whole, my only complaint is that there was so little poetry. Given the poetic nature of the best hip-hop lyrics, there should be a fair amount of poetry in any hip-hop literary journal. Hopefully, we'll get more poetry in the next issue. All in all, this first issue is a strong start. And what better title for a hip-hop lit journal than "Bronx Biannual." The Bronx gave birth to hip-hop music. The music has spread all over the world, but it all started in the Boogie Down...

Finally...

After all the debate between street lit and literary fiction (as though Chester Himes had never existed) there is finally a book that expands the horizons of post-millennium Black writing. Not content to merely represent, Bronx Biannual pushes the limits, tittering on the cutting edge of wildness. Editor Miles Marshall Lewis recruited some great writers like Adam Mansbach and Donnell Alexander for this first issue. From the afrofuturism of Greg Tate to the bugged-out '80s funk of "Sweet Thing Superhero" (which reads like a collabo between Public Enemy and Ru Paul), editor Miles Marshall Lewis has flipped the black book script. Can't wait for number two...