My Soul Looks Back

A Memoir

By: Jessica B. Harris

Narrated by: Jessica B. Harris

In the Technicolor glow of the early 70s, Jessica B. Harris debated, celebrated, and danced her way from the jazz clubs of the Manhattan's West Side to the restaurants of the Village, living out her buoyant youth alongside the great minds of the day - luminaries like Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison. My Soul Looks Back is her paean to that fascinating social circle and the depth of their shared commitment to activism, intellectual engagement, and each other.

Harris paints evocative portraits of her illustrious friends: Baldwin as he read aloud an early draft of If Beale Street Could Talk, Angelou cooking in her California kitchen, and Morrison relaxing at Baldwin's house in Provence. Harris describes her role as theater critic for the New York Amsterdam News and editor at then burgeoning Essence magazine; star-studded parties in the South of France; drinks at Mikell's, a hip West Side club; and the simple joy these extraordinary people took in each other's company. The book is framed by Harris' relationship with Sam Floyd, a fellow professor at Queens College, who introduced her to Baldwin. More than a memoir of friendship and first love, My Soul Looks Back is a carefully crafted, intimately understood homage to a bygone era and the people that made it so remarkable.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2017 Jessica B. Harris (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Jessica recounts the story of her most interesting

life. hers is a most interesting life filled with dizzying highs of her meeting, greeting, and befriended the most iconic figures in modern black literature. her intimate stories are woven together to form a quitted, textural tapestry of well lived life. I found myself at times jealous, awestruck, and humbled by her experiences. but most of all grateful for her sharing them

Thank you!

Thank you for sharing your story with the world! I am inspired by your prose!

This look back was a great insight into a life

I stumbled on this book and am so delighted I did. The insights that she shares are profound. I’m off to find more of her books now.

Loved every word.

I laughed and I cried. It was so beautifully romantic so utterly delicious. I’m partial because NYC is my home and Queens and Brooklyn the village all so familiar. Coupled with ban inside look at some of my favorite people in all their glory days. Breath taking

Culinary Literature at its Best

This was beautiful story that spans and transcends generations. It was like the fly on the wall got to their story about Black literature giants & made them human.