{"product_id":"my-soul-looks-back-a-memoir-9781501125928","title":"My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn this captivating new memoir, award-winning writer Jessica B. Harris recalls her youth \"surrounded by some of the most famous creative minds of the seventies and eighties...James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Nina Simone\" (\u003ci\u003eNew York \u003c\/i\u003emagazine)--in a vibrant, lost era of New York City.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 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. \u003ci\u003eMy Soul Looks Back \u003c\/i\u003eis her tribute to that fascinating social circle and their shared commitment to activism, intellectual engagement, and each other. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith \"simmering warmth\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e), Harris paints evocative portraits of her illustrious friends: Baldwin as he read aloud an early draft of \u003ci\u003eIf Beale Street Could Talk\u003c\/i\u003e, Angelou cooking in her California kitchen, and Morrison relaxing at Baldwin's house in Provence. Harris describes her role as theater critic for the \u003ci\u003eNew York Amsterdam News \u003c\/i\u003eand editor at then-burgeoning \u003ci\u003eEssence \u003c\/i\u003emagazine; 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMore than a memoir of friendship and first love, \u003ci\u003eMy Soul Looks Back\u003c\/i\u003e is a carefully crafted, intimately understood homage to a bygone era and the people that made it so remarkable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJessica B. Harris holds a PhD from NYU and taught English at Queens College for more than thirty years. She lectures internationally. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eHigh on the Hog\u003c\/i\u003e, which inspired the hit 2021 Netflix show of the same name. She is also the author of a memoir, \u003ci\u003eM\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003ey Soul Looks Back\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as twelve cookbooks. Her articles have appeared in \u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFood \u0026amp; Wine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEssence\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, among other publications. She has made numerous television and radio appearances and has been profiled in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e. Considered one of the preeminent scholars of the food of the African Diaspora, Harris has been inducted into the James Beard Who's Who in Food and Beverage in America, she received the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020, and an Augie Award from the Culinary Institute of America in 2022. She also received an honorary doctorate from Johnson \u0026amp; Wales University and recently helped the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture to conceptualize its cafeteria.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50607447408914,"sku":"9781501125928","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_24b39255-a524-4b0f-a740-90792a5150c2.jpg?v=1732308599","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/my-soul-looks-back-a-memoir-9781501125928","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}