Honey, Hush!

An Anthology of African American Women's Humor

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Edited by Daryl Cumber Dance,

by Nikki Giovanni

W. W. Norton and Co.

Due/Published October 1997, 673 pages, cloth

ISBN 0393045579

The vibrant humor of African American women is celebrated in this bold, unique, and comprehensive collection. Often hard-hitting, sometimes risque, always dramatic and eloquent ("Sure God created Man before Woman, but then you always make a rough draft before the Final Masterpiece"), this humor arises from the depth and breadth of black women's lives. Daryl Cumber Dance has brought together a wonderful assemblage of contributors for Honey, Hush!--from slave narrators to contemporary political commentators, from antebellum poets to Audre Lorde, from the earliest novelists to Toni Morrison, from Beulah to Whoopi Goldberg, from the blues singer to the rapper.
As Dance was growing up, she absorbed this humor that spoke to all aspects of women's lives: hair, men, white folk, black people, and the nation. She describes it as "the natural delight of my life." If indeed humor is "God's aspirin to soothe the headache of reality," as the folk tell us, then this book is just the prescription the doctor ordered. "Honey, Hush!" is an exclamation used among black women, especially those from the South, as a friendly encouragement, a mild suggestion of playful disbelief, or a suggestion that one is telling truths that are prohibited. Honey, Hush! includes folktales, proverbs, cartoons, short stories, autobiographies, and much more.