Collaborations
From Midnight to Dawn: The Last Tracks of the Underground Railroad
Jacqueline L. Tobin with Hettie Jones
This extraordinary narrative offers a fresh perspective on the Underground Railroad as it traces the perilous journeys of fugitive ex–slaves from the United States to free black settlements in Canada.
The Underground Railroad was the passage to freedom for many slaves, but it was rife with dangers. There were dedicated conductors and safe houses, but also arduous nights in the mountains and days in threatening towns. For those who made it to Midnight (the code name given to Detroit), the Detroit River became a River Jordan—and Canada became their land of Canaan, the Promised Land where they could live freely in black settlements under the protection of British law. One of these settlements was known as Dawn.
In prose rich in detail and imagery, From Midnight to Dawn presents compelling portraits of the men and women who established the Railroad, and of the people who traveled it to find new lives in Canada. Some of the figures are well known, like Harriet Tubman and John Brown. But there are equally heroic, less familiar figures here as well, like Mary Ann Shadd, who became the first black female newspaper editor in North America, and Osborne Perry Anderson, the only black survivor of the fighting at Harpers Ferry.
From Midnight to Dawn evokes the turmoil and controversies of the time, reveals the compelling stories behind events such as Harpers Ferry and the Christian Resistance, and introduces the reader to the real–life “Uncle Tom” who influenced Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
An extraordinary examination of a part of American history that transcends national borders, From Midnight to Dawn will captivate readers with its tales of hope, courage, and a people’s determination to live equal under the law.
Grace the Table: Stories and Recipes from My Southern Revival
Boasting a loyal clientele that includes such luminaries as Quincy Jones, Spike Lee and Toni Morrison, Cafe Beulah became a major Manhattan hot spot. Much of its success is due not only to its renowned approach to southern cooking -- a delicious blend of traditional fare with international flair -- but also to the effervescent, larger-than-life presence of its ex-opera singer owner, Alexander Smalls.
In Grace the Table, Smalls combines his storytelling talent with his love for food in a memoir of his journey from his hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina, to Europe and eventually to Manhattan. "Growing, buying, preparing, serving, eating food -- the whole tasty subject -- captured and framed so many of my memories that in a curious way it has not only sustained me but given me life," writes Smalls, and his unabashed passion is readily apparent as he regales readers with such recollections as the first meal he ever prepared (when he was six), his accidental but rewarding encounter with Joan Sutherland, and his adventures, culinary and otherwise, while touring Europe as one of the stars of the Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy and Bess.
As a special treat, 100 of the delicious culinary creations he invented during his travels are sprinkled throughout the book, allowing readers to recreate his menus and enjoy such Southern Revival dishes as black-eyed peas with arugula and macaroni-and-cheese terrine with Creole sauce.
No Woman No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley
Rita Marley with Hettie Jones
A memoir by the woman who knew Bob Marley best--his wife, Rita.
Rita Marley grew up in the slums of Trench Town, Jamaica. Abandoned by her mother at a very young age, she was raised by her aunt. Music ran in Rita's family, and even as a child her talent for singing was pronounced. By the age of 18, Rita was an unwed mother, and it was then that she met Bob Marley at a recording studio in Trench Town. Bob and Rita became close friends, fell in love, and soon, she and her girlfriends were singing backup for the Wailers. At the ages of 21 and 19, Bob and Rita were married.
The rest is history: Bob Marley and the Wailers set Jamaica and the world on fire. But while Rita displayed blazing courage, joy, and an indisputable devotion to her husband, life with Bob was not easy. There were his liaisons with other women--some of which produced children and were conducted under Rita's roof. The press repeatedly reported that Bob was unmarried to preserve his "image." But Rita kept her self-respect, and when Bob succumbed to cancer in 1981, she was at his side. In the years that followed, she became a force in her own right--as the Bob Marley Foundation's spokesperson and a performer in her reggae group, the I-Three.
Written with author Hettie Jones, No Woman No Cry is a no-holds-barred account of life with one of the most famous musicians of all time. In No Woman No Cry, readers will learn about the never-before-told details of Bob Marley's life, including:
How Rita practiced subsistence farming when first married to Bob to have food for her family.
How Rita rode her bicycle into town with copies of Bob's latest songs to sell.
How Rita worked as a housekeeper in Delaware to help support her family when her children were young.
Why Rita chose to befriend some of the women with whom Bob had affairs and to give them advice on rearing the children they had with Bob.
The story of the attack on Bob which almost killed the two of them.
Bob's last wishes, dreams, and hopes, as well as the details of his death, such as who came to the funeral (and who didn't).
Aliens at the Border: The Writing Workshop, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
"A few years ago, the Bedford Hills Workshop gave us More in than out with this second collection,” Hettie Jones' group sings so tellingly, so irresistibly that we find the walls dissolving. These writers feel themselves to be aliens at the border. But if tis candor and courage, this hard-won compassion -- be alien, what is left faro the rest of us?