Comments on: Street Fiction vs. Urban Fiction–What’s in a Name?

By: Brooklyn Darkchild

Brooklyn Darkchild — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:57:26 +0000

I personally have never made a distinction between urban and street fiction. I was under the impression that they were one and the same, and the Wikipedia article didn’t really clear this up for me.

So far I haven’t read any books by Solomon Jones and Kenji Jasper but I will definitely be adding them to my TBR list.

The last urban/street fiction book I read was Baby Girl by Jihad. I thought that as far as Street Fiction goes it was exceptionally well written. Given the wealth of characters Jihad managed to imbue each one with his/her own personal voice. Maybe it got a little over the top at the end, but I totally respect was Jihad was trying to convey.
And I might possibly be in love…

By: Linda

Linda — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:52:35 +0000

There is not much I can add to this conversation because the fact is, they are the same.
And there you have it..lol

By: Dera

Dera — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:55:39 +0000

great discussion

By: Yasmin

Yasmin — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:33:15 +0000

Okay I’M GOING to be reading my sister’s book and I’m sorry that sista didn’t think your book was hood enough…actually time someone approaches you like that tell them it’s not hood…it’s URBAN.

Yasmin’s last blog post..Street Fiction vs. Urban Fiction–What’s in a Name?

By: Julia

Julia — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:25:31 +0000

Ok, so, after writing my book, and attending too many writers conferences, I knew I had to pick a genre for my baby. My book is set in North Philly with black characters, so I thought bingo, It’s urban fiction. I went over to my sister’s house to borrow a few of her titles… B-More Careful, True to the Game, and Heat Seekers… I couldn’t look to my own shelves because they were poluted with SciFi-fantasy

My baby didn’t fit in with my sister’s books. Strawberry Mansion was a different kind of book! I classified it as womens fiction with urban grit!

Flash forward to a book signing in Philadelphia. A woman comes up to me in the midst of me talking to potential readers, and tells me that Strawberry Mansion was trash. She said it was boring. “It aint even have no killing in it!”

I was shocked, and speechless, because it was the first time that I heard something negative about my book. It took me a minute to respond. I smiled at the sistah, sat back in my chair, and proceeded to ask her what, besides the fact that no one dies, did she dislike about it.

She shrugged her shoulders, pulled her copy from her bag, thumbed through it, and said, “It wasn’t hood enough.”

go figure

By: Shon

Shon — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:39:43 +0000

I can’t even say I’m surprised, Julia. *shaking head*

And you KNOW I loved the book – and it’s most definitely not HOOD-hood. It’s urban for sure, but not hood or street.

Shon’s last blog post..Spotlight on ME Today @ APOOO Bookclub!

By: Jennifer C.

Jennifer C. — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:58:39 +0000

Ok, here is my four cents worth on urban and street. Both urban and street lit uses the same harsh language. Street uses more Ebonics than anything else, sometimes hard for me to understand because I truly don’t use it.

Urban to me is the life that takes place in the inner city. Does it have to revolve around drugs, jails and drive-bys no, why because if you think about it not all jails are in the inner cities; some are located out in no man’s land, and not all drive-bys happen in the inner cities. But people do lose their jobs and fires do occur things like that could fit in an urban book.

Street is all about drugs, brothels, guns and things of that nature. The last street novel I read must have been last year or even longer because I don’t remember. But the last urban novel I read was Lucky Me by Eric Branch. He wrote about what goes on in a neighborhood in Texas. Although it had drugs, and prostitutes, that wasn’t all there was. You had the main character who was struggling to keep up a certain appearance in school. He was going after the popular girl, and those sorts of things. But the family life was addressed as was friendships, and the other things listed above.

I tend to stay away from Street-lit; I do read it from time to time, but I won’t run out just to pick up that particular genre of book. Some urban books I would run out to get, not as quickly as my favorite genres but I would.

By: APOOO

APOOO — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:53:43 +0000

Hey folks tomorrow I’m participating in Thursday Thirteen and this week’s theme is going to be thirteen things related to Hot Fun in the Summertime and no it’s not going to be books this week…but I think you will enjoy it anyway so make sure you stop on by to check out what I’m doing this week and if you’re interested in doing Thursday Thirteen CLICK BELOW for details.

http://www.apooobooks.com/2008/07/30/thursday-thirteen-between-the-sheets/

By: APOOO

APOOO — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:50:57 +0000

Darnetta–I’m just going to chew and then digest…hehe.

By: Darnetta

Darnetta — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:45:53 +0000

Yeah, Wahida Clark Thug series should be up there along with Vickie Stringer’s Let That Be The Reason

Stringer was one of the authors who spun her life in LTBTR and has since made crazy money and created Triple Crown Pub (OHIO baby!!)

@Yas Glad you get it sis! Now you got it, what are you gonna do with it? LOL

Darnetta’s last blog post..Saturday morning freestyle