BLOGS

Good day,

As a local, Harlem-raised author, I was happy to see Hue-Man open
years ago. Since then, I have tried to get your establishment to carry
my independently published novel; on each of the several occasions on
which I did so, I was told that Hue-Man does not accept independently
published manuscripts. At first, I took this in stride; I thought
maybe it was a matter of excessive demand, and/or an attempt to
maintain a high literary standard. As a Harlem native, it made me
happy to think this might be the case. But since then, I've walked
into Hue Man--and received its newsletters--and been increasingly
disappointed in not only the diminishing quality of the newsletter's
writing, but the popularity-driven schlock that has more often
stocked its shelves. If you're going to pick up some of the
hoopla-oriented caricatured stuff I've seen, I think your consistent
unwillingness to represent a local author--whose book aims to inspire
critical thought and a progressive agenda--is disappointing. There was
a time when Hue-Man was on the short list of bookstores I'd have been
happy to say were among the first to stock my debut; I'm no longer
sure this is the case. Again, I find this disappointing. If you'd at
least taken a copy and it wasn't your cup of tea, I could have
retained my respect for the bookstore's standard and intent; now, I
increasngly believe that it's just an angle to slide into some
weak and unchallenging outpost of the mainstream, by promoting
half-baked quasi-intelligent products that tell people what they want
to hear. Feel free to prove me wrong, but I have my doubts.

Sincerely,
PW