Which great books by Black authors should be brought to the screen?
When we learned about the upcoming television series based on Octavia Butler's extraordinary 1979 novel Kindred, we decided to ask some of our favorite literary leaders which book by a Black writer they would most like to see adapted to the screen. In honor of Black History Month, here are their responses.
Carla Hayden, librarian of Congress
Virginia Hamilton was the first [Black] winner of the Newbery Medal and that's the Oscar for youth literature. Her first novel is called . It's a beautiful, evocative story about a young African American girl and her brother going down to their Uncle Ross' farm, and there's this mysterious woman, Zeely, who the young girl thinks is a Watusi queen. I immediately thought of Lupita Nyong'o, and for Julie Dash to direct, since the mood reminds me of . Uncle Ross might not be glamorous enough for Idris Elba to do this, but ... we could ask.
