Book Reviewing, African-American Style.

The author reflects on her review of African-American writer Maya Angelou's book "A Song Flung up to Heaven." The author has assessed the book poorly, and the review caused an immediate furor in the African-American community. She said that critically reviewing the creative efforts of African-American writers is a minefield of a task complicated by the social residuals of slavery and the shifting currents in U.S. publishing. She pointed out that a certain amount of fear may be attached to the task of criticism.