Very Apt Descriptions

Here are Google A.I.'s recent descriptions of this blog:

"Urban Book Maven is an online blog and cultural archive authored by writer and cultural critic Charles Michael Smith. The blog focuses on the intersection of LGBTQ+ culture, Black history, literature, and arts, often sharing historical essays, author interviews, and reflections on queer and multicultural heritage. Notable topics frequently discussed on the site include the legacy of Black gay writers (such as Assotto Saint) and historical accounts of nightlife and anti-violence resistance [sic] in communities of color." (accessed May 28, 2026)

In an earlier description, A. I. described the blog as "an active blog featuring literary commentary, personal essays, and reflections with recent content published as of March 2026. The site has been noted in academic contexts regarding queer literature and features posts exploring themes of travel, memory, and literature." (accessed April 24, 2026)

I would say that the above statements are very apt descriptions.

Science Fiction Writer Samuel R. Delany On His Story Sources

Samuel R. Delany, the award-winning author of many science fiction books, and who recently celebrated his 80th birthday, had this to say to T: The New York Times Style Magazine in its Culture issue (April 24, 2022) about sources for his fiction:

"When I'm writing, I think about the paper in front of me and the story I'm trying to tell. I'm very much aware that almost any idea can be sourced from somewhere, and they're as liable to be from other books as they are from things in life."

What's Your Choice--An Amusement Park Or A Museum?

I recently discovered a new television network called Dabl (seen in the New York metro area on WCBS, Channel 2.3). It focuses on lifestyles.

The first show I've seen so far is Doctor & the Diva. In their "This or That" segment, they asked this question: Would you prefer to be locked in an amusement park or a museum? Kimberley, one of the show's hosts, said she'd prefer to be locked in an amusement park because she'd be bored in a museum. Her co-host, Steve, said he'd prefer the museum.

Having spent many pleasurable hours in museums, that would be my choice, too. Museums offer so much to see, do, and learn, how could anyone be bored? Especially at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, my favorite, which is so large, with so many exhibits, you could spend the whole day there and not see everything.

Harlem Renaissance Redux

What I would like to see is a true second Harlem Renaissance, not the one they say exists today which is really more about real estate and gentrification than anything cultural.

This new movement would rival, maybe surpass, what went on in Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s, out of which came such artistic luminaries as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, et al. It would involve every branch of the arts to the nth degree, making use of existing as well as newly created cultural venues.

In my fantasy world, my apartment, which has a large living room, would be at the center of this activity a la A'Lelia Walker's Dark Tower salon on West 136th Street. (Walker, the daughter of the black cosmetics entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker, was a supporter of the arts during the Harlem Renaissance.)

As a result, Harlem Week, instead of being a month-long series of events in August as it is now, would be year round.

Summer Events In New York, 2019

I hope everyone is enjoying the spring so far. Summer is not too far away. The Museum Mile Festival on Fifth Avenue, Wall to Wall John Coltrane at the Symphony Space Theatre (an eight-hour event), and the Stonewall 50 celebration are among the summer events I'm looking forward to.

Dress Codes Are Not Fashion Fascism

The following is an unpublished letter-to-the-editor that was sent via e-mail to the New York Daily News as well as amNew York, a free daily newspaper.

Voice of the People

New York Daily News

450 West 33rd Street

New York, NY 10001

October 21, 2005

To the Editor:

Re: NBA dress code. To call Commissioner Stern's decision racist or, as [sportswriter] Filip Bondy termed it, an act of "fashion fascism," is utterly ridiculous. What's wrong with looking your best? How can that be interpreted as "attacking cultures," as one of the athletes described it? What is cultured about wearing pants so low that one's underwear shows?

If Joe Louis, Martin Luther King, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Robeson, Malcolm X, Duke Ellington, and other African-American luminaries had dressed as slovenly and thuggish as some of today's millionaire athletes, no one would have taken them seriously. In fact, the black community would have been ashamed of them for looking like someone's unmade bed.

Sincerely yours,

Charles Michael Smith

Anthony Bourdain, A Man Worth Knowing

R.I.P. Anthony Bourdain (1956-2018), chef, author, journalist, TV host.

After reading articles about Anthony Bourdain online and in print, I regretted not having the opportunity to meet him. Or interviewing him about the restaurant business for a newspaper or magazine article. It would have been a thought-provoking, possibly life-altering, experience.

Now I intend to read his books as well as look on YouTube for episodes of his television programs. (I love watching food shows.)

I do recall hearing Bourdain being interviewed by talk show host Leonard Lopate on New York's WNYC-AM when his restaurant tell-all book, Kitchen Confidential, came out in 2000. Maybe that interview, and others, are also on YouTube. I hope so.

Sarah J. Jackson, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston, in an article she wrote for the Sunday New York Times (June 10, 2018) stated that Bourdain "was not just curious about food and the world. He was aware that injustice and inequality are systemic issues, and he never shied away from pointing that out."

Another writer, Jonathan Gold, a restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times, reported in that paper (June 8, 2018), that "Bourdain was most interested in the intersection of food and culture, and a shot of a fish on a plate would usually be preceded by an exploration of the people who had cooked it, sold it in the market or landed it on their boat."

Such a man was worth knowing and being given our full attentions.

New York's Museum Mile Festival

I'm looking forward to the annual Museum Mile Festival when all the museums along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan are free (for one day), from 6 pm until 9 pm.

On that day, Fifth Avenue, between 82nd and 106th Streets, is closed to traffic, making the street pedestrian-friendly.

 This year will mark my 9th year attending the festival, which takes place on Tuesday, June 14, rain or shine.

 I usually start my tour at the Museum of the City of New York and end at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, my favorite museum. If there is enough time left, I visit one of the other museums, like the Jewish Museum. Unfortunately, there is only so much that can be seen in three hours.

 As I walked down Fifth Avenue during past festivals, I encountered many pleasant sights and sounds: outdoor musicians, food vendors, magicians, adults and children writing messages on the street in colored chalk.

I hope this year's festival will bring with it good weather. One year it rained, preventing any outdoor activity which is part of the fun of attending the festival.