Anovelista.com: Maya Angelou

Welcome to the new and hopefully improved Anovelista.com!

I decided to move from my Blogger address because I was so bored with it and I figured that I needed a fresh start. The inspiration for the new version of my blog came from the little pink leather notebook that I use to jot down ideas and thoughts. I am never without it and it happens to be one of the first things I blogged about at 55 Secret Street.

A few brief updates for readers from the old Anovelista blog (which will remain since I don't know how to transfer the archives yet).

The book about my aunt, Margaret Tynes, is in the homestretch and I've finally gotten back to my novel (you know, the one I'm not talking about yet...). Since I'm not in school this semester, I'm going to use the "extra" time to get back into the groove of it. Maya Angelou once noted how she wanted to finish one of the books that she was writing "so these people can get out of my house." "These people" were the characters in her book and, believe me, I know exactly what she's talking about.

While I will write longer posts from time to time, for the most part, I'm going to stick with a set format - an opener and links to articles, websites and other things that I find interesting.

So, here we go!

Dream Covergirl - Jennifer Hudson will be on the March covers of Vogue and Essence. She was photographed for Vogue by Annie Leibovitz at the Apollo Theater as part of a seven-page essay, but landed the cover after snagging the Golden Globe last month. Andre Leon Talley has also been dressing her. Talk about blessed!

Since 1993, only five black women have appeared on the cover of American Vogue:

* Kiara Kabukuru (July 1997) You may recognize the Ugandan born Kiara from the book Face Forward by the late great makeup artist Kevin Aucoin. She and Amber Valleta split the cover. Her Vogue cover made the news because it was such a rarity. The previous black cover model before this? Naomi Campbell in June 1993.

* Oprah Winfrey (October 1998) Oprah made the cover after she became a billionaire - and lost twenty pounds. She was also the beneficiary of positively amazing makeup artistry by the fabulous British Jamaican makeup genius Pat McGrath. Thandie Newton and Kimberly Elise were featured inside with her as part of the promotion for the film version of Beloved.

* Halle Berry (December 2002) after she won the Oscar for Monster's Ball. Great shots inside of her with Pierce Brosnan for their James Bond movie Die Another Day.

* Liya Kebede (May 2005) Unquestionably the black model of the moment - and the first black model to get a coveted Estee Lauder contract. Born in Ethiopia, she is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the World Health Organization.

UPDATE 2/13/2007: Some pointed out that I forgot one more celebrity black covergirl for Vogue - Olympian Marion Jones in January 2001. How could I forget that one? I totally remember my jaw dropping when I saw it.

May I point out one thing though? In the magazine world, there are "slow" cover months - January, July and August especially. If you'll notice, the issues are noticeably thinner in these months (because of lower ad pages).

That said, consider it progress when you see a black celebrity on a cover with huge ad pages - especially September through December thanks to ads for the holiday season.

Watch and Listen

* Barack Obama has finally announced that he is running for president and he'd like you to meet his wife Michelle. Of course, now that he's officially in, the gloves are coming all the way off. Don't blow it Barack!