Upstate
Antonio and Natasha both have had less than favorable living conditions, Natasha witnesses her mother suffer from her living-in boyfriend. There was a time before the death of her father that they are all lived in the happy times. Antonio has a depressed father who tries to heal his pain with alcohol, lashing out with his wife and his son. Even though Antonio was sent to the prison and was locked up for years, they were still deeply in love with each other but finally he can let go although it’s difficult for him.
Upstate
So most of us know someone who is, has been, or working their way to be locked up, locked down, or just part of the biggest business in America -- prisons.
Then I found a novel that humanizes the prison industrial complex. UPSTATE, by Kalisha Buckhanon. Kalisha is a smart, down-to-earth, and talented writer originally from the Chicago area who now teaches and writes in New York City.
Her book answers the question -- can love survive the test of time, separation, and prison? In UPSTATE, Harlem teenagers, Antonio and Natasha, find their relationship in trouble when he is sent to prison for killing his father, a crime he may or may not have committed. Will Natasha stand by her man? Will Antonio get justice in a society that imprisons black and brown men at alarming rates?
I recently had the chance to talk with the author, about her novel, reading, the hip hop generation, and why Antonio and Natasha are such compelling characters.
Kalisha, what was your inspiration for writing UPSTATE?
Several personal and social factors contributed to me being inspired to write this book. Every black person that I know has family members or friends who are incarcerated. The little black boys that I've taught, who are beautiful and marvelous and creative now, but may somehow have all of that ripped out of them by the time they reach Antonio's age, were at the forefront of...
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