THE STORY: The action takes place in suburban Philadelphia, where the Reverend Avery Harrison, a Baptist preacher, clings tenaciously to his position in the local black elite. His upwardly mobile philosophy is avidly shared by his wife, Myra (whose

Collects more than 1,400 English-language proverbs that arose in the 20th and 21st centuries, organized alphabetically by key words and including information on date of origin, history and meaning.

People relate to popular music, and this book helps you use popular music to draw readers into the Gospel. The material in this book will provide insight that ties popular song lyrics to Scripture in such a way that non-believers will be drawn to the relevance and power of God's Word. The author, Tony Rufo, is a communications/ministry executive, marketing consultant, writer, and broadcaster who has over 20 years of experience working in the Christian and general markets. His published works include media and music articles, book reviews, radio and television commercials and scripts, and evangelistic essays. True Tunes Newsfeatured his article, "The Gospel According to John, Paul, George, and Ringo—Good Time Rock 'n Roll or Religion for the Undiscerning?" which was the inspiration for this book. He also authored the "Media Mix" column for the semimonthly Horizon Internationalmagazine, which included installments on popular music and the Beatles. Tony lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his family. Features: Alphabetically arranged topic guide Excerpts from 200 songs from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s to today Profiles of the artists and the culture during the time-period of the song's release A great resource for relevant cultural anecdotes!

Such sayings as "Hard times make a monkey eat red pepper when he don't care for black", "The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice", and "Nothing ruins a duck but its bill" convey not only axiomatic impact but also profound contextual meanings. This study of African-American proverbs is the first to probe deeply into these meanings and contexts. Sw. Anand Prahlad's interest in proverbs dates back to his own childhood in rural Virginia when he listened to his great-grandmother's stories. Very early he began collecting "sayings". In researching this book, he spent five years listening for proverbs spoken in bars, clubs, churches, and retirement homes; on street corners, basketball courts, and public buses; at PTA meetings and bingo games. To discover the full context of a proverb, Prahlad considers four levels of meanings - grammatical, cultural, situational, and symbolic. All these operate simultaneously when a proverb is spoken. Part of the artistry in using proverbs comes from the complex interplay of the dimensions of their meanings. From WPA interviews with former slaves, from the lyrics of blues songs, from extensive field research, and from expressions of protest and cultural affirmation, the author reveals the myriad ways African-American proverbs thrive today.

Moving Parts offers actors the best monologues from great plays—pieces by both well-known and up-and-coming playwrights, including many minority artists—that offer a variety of dramatic styles for beginning and experienced actors. Included are more than a hundred monologues from such contemporary voices as Eric Bogosian, Caryl Churchill, Christopher Durang, Maria Irene Fornes, Athol Fugard, Philip Kan Gotanda, Václav Havel, Lanford Wilson, and George C. Wolfe. Designed for easy browsing, the monologues are indexed by gender, age, and subject to help actors locate appropriate material, and each is introduced with a short description of the plot, setting, and character type. These monologues stand on their own as good theater, while they give actors a well-defined character, a story to tell, and a wide range of behavior and feeling to portray.

The African American Griot is a comprehensive collection of more than seventy proverbs found in Hip-Hop and R&B songs. It demonstrates how these art forms use proverbs to transmit life wisdom from generation to generation. The meaning of each proverb is explained, followed by a detailed analysis of how one or more songs use that proverb to teach a life lesson.

(Applause Books). This first-of-its kind collection includes a wide range of works, from an early examination and critique of American society after World War II to plays that reflect socio-political concerns that kept pace with historical events, like the sit-in demonstrations, the bus boycotts, black nationalism, and the women's liberation movement. A hybrid of comedic forms including satire, farce, comedy of manners, romantic comedy, dark comedy, and tragicomedy are presented through vernacular language, stand-up performance art, masks, broad humor, as well as the minstrel show. Essays, articles and interviews complement this critical edition.