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Overview
In the Technicolor glow of the early seventies, Jessica B. Harris debated, celebrated, and danced her way from the jazz clubs of the Manhattan’s West Side to the restaurants of Greenwich Village, living out her buoyant youth alongside the great minds of the day—luminaries like Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison. My Soul Looks Back is her tribute to that fascinating social circle and their shared commitment to activism, intellectual engagement, and each other.
With “simmering warmth” (The New York Times), 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. 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. At the center is Harris’s relationship with Sam Floyd, a fellow professor at Queens College, who introduced her to Baldwin.
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.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781501127007 |
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Publisher: | Scribner |
Publication date: | 05/09/2017 |
Sold by: | SIMON & SCHUSTER |
Format: | eBook |
Pages: | 272 |
Sales rank: | 226,432 |
File size: | 3 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
My Soul Looks Back
Caldo Gallego—Galician White Bean Soup
I first tasted caldo gallego on a trip to Santiago de Compostela more years ago than I want to count. It was love at first slurp: the combination of the slightly spicy chorizo sausage, the bland starch of the potato, and the tang of the greens was perfectly suited to that northern Spanish town where they boast they have made rainfall an art form. I was thrilled to discover it on the menu at El Faro, where many chowed down on shrimp in green sauce and other shellfishy delights. It rapidly became my go-to order: comfort in a bowl. Even today, one spoonful takes me time-traveling back to the scarred wooden booths in the restaurant’s back room and reminds me of my youth.
– Serves six –
1 ham hock (about 1/2 pound)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/4 pound chorizo, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
3/4 pound Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 medium), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch-thick cubes
2 cups small white turnips, roughly chopped
2 cans cannellini beans and their liquid
4 cups chopped kale
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Prepare the ham hock by cooking it in water to cover for 2 hours. Reserve the cooking liquid and add enough water to make 10 cups.
In a large, heavy saucepot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onions and chorizo and cook until the onions soften and the chorizo starts to brown, about five minutes.
Add the ham hock and liquid, the potatoes, and the turnips. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, skimming off and discarding any foam that rises to the surface, until the ham, potatoes, and turnips soften, about 11/2 hours.
Add the beans and the kale and cook until the greens are tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove the ham hock. Pull the meat off the bone and discard the bone. Stir the meat into the pot. Adjust seasonings and serve.
Table of Contents
Prologue 1
Chapter 1 Club 81-Sammy and Jimmy 5
Chapter 2 And the Baby Made Three 23
Chapter 3 Bantam Sam was the Man 57
Chapter 4 Oh, the People You'll Meet! 79
Chapter 5 Oh, the Places You'll Go! West Side Rambles 107
Chapter 6 Wanderlust: Sonoma, Haiti, and Paris 133
Chapter 7 Titine and Tabasco 157
Chapter 8 Soul-Full 183
Chapter 9 Aftermath 205
Chapter 10 It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over! 225
Playlist 245
Acknowledgments 251