Monday, April 30, 2007

Tea Cake: A Hip Hop Character (?)



Monday, April 23rd, we videotaped DC WritersCorps' presentation of poetry and spoken word inspired by Their Eyes Were Watching God. In an informal follow up discussion one of the young poets remarked that he saw Tea Cake as a "hip hop character."

What makes Tea Cake a hip hop character? A man who played blues guitar? Why do young women identify with Janie and why is she an important character for them to explore? Janie didn't live by the rules set for her. What were her rules? What and whose rules do the characters (and we) live under just to get by?

These are some of the questions inspired by the young writers of DC WritersCorps.

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