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.

Unmade Black Projects

The following black experience-related film and stage projects proposed by black entertainers were mentioned in the press but so far they have not been made:

1. Spike Lee (director)--A biopic about the 1938 boxing rematch between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling; A film adaptation of Porgy and Bess.

2. Barry Jenkins (director)--A biopic about the choreographer Alvin Ailey.

3. Jon Batiste (musician/composer)--A Broadway musical based on the life of the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

4. Alicia Keys (singer/pianist)--A biopic about the biracial piano prodigy Philippa Schuyler, whose father was the Harlem Renaissance writer and critic George Schuyler.

5. Jesse L. Martin (actor)--A biopic about the R & B singer Marvin Gaye.

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.

Book Rescue On 116th Street

Walking up 7th Avenue toward 116th Street in Harlem, in front of the First Corinthian Baptist Church (its pastor, Michael Walrond, unsuccessfully ran against congressman Charles Rangel this year), I found, face down, a copy of a paperback immigrant novel. The book, If Today Be Sweet, was written by a novelist and professor of creative writing and journalism, Thrity Umrigar, originally from India. She is now living in the United States.

I picked the book up and tucked it between two church pillars thinking that the book had been left behind after a recent book fair at the church and that someone would find it. Twenty-four hours later, the book was still where I had placed it. So I decided to keep it.

Browsing through it, I found on the inside back cover, an inscription, handwritten in ink and dated
"1/18/08 09!"

"Barack Obama

'Our arts, our culture, our sciences are part of what make [sic] America special. And I plan to invite those things into the White House.'--Meet the Press, 2008."


If I never get around to reading this novel, that inscription alone was worth the effort to rescue this book from some landfill.