European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Researchers dig up roots of Black novels Lee May like marathoners forced to Wear weighted shoes Black american novelists during slavery and for decades after faced seemingly impossible Odds on the Road to publication. As slaves Black people were forbidden by Law to read and write. Some slave writers not Only had to escape their masters but flee the country As Well. Even those who were befriended by sympathetic while americans often had to tone Down their views of racism in order to get published. Still they wrote. The Early novels by Blacks were steeped in realism born out of their enslavement and later by the tyranny of Low level jobs lynchings segregation and discrimination. But through the years these windows into the soul of Black America remained largely closed relegated to literary backwaters. Now University researchers Are sifting through these novels and in the process have uncovered a trove of disclosures about Black life in America and race relations Over the years. The search also makes an important link Between the Early Black writers and those who came later. One of the biggest projects is at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Researchers Are a tempting to Catalon and collect a copy of every librarian Erna Johnson of Amherst n.h., with one of the earliest Black novels. Novel published by a Black american author since the first one a William Wells Browne so clot Elk a published in 1853. The Effort is similar to those at other universities where collections Are under Way for periodical literature and for fiction covering Shorter periods of time. In addition collectors at private organizations increasingly Are seeking out books written by Blacks. The collectors say their discoveries of Early Black novels will help tear Down the stereotype that Black people historically have had Only an a Oral tradition of storytelling not a written one. And the stories they say often provide insights into Ordinary Black life broadening everyone a understanding of the Black experience in America. Researchers note that Many students Are familiar with the works of later Black authors like Toni Morrison Richard Wright Alice Walker and James Baldwin. But they Are almost certain to know very Little about Brown and other earlier authors and with the depth of Black Talent and despair represented in those works. That is something they Hope to change. So far the Mississippi project has collected 1,500 of the known 2,000 novels by Blacks including 60 written before 1940. Among them is a Clotel a which is subtitled a the presidents daughter because it represents the persistent assertion that Thomas Jefferson fathered children by a Black woman. The author was an escaped slave who made his Way from Kentucky to Cleveland to Buffalo n.y., where his House was an underground Railroad station. He wrote the Book in the British Isles and it was published in London. At the time he could not return to America lest he risk re enslavement. Its Story revolves around the a tragic mulatto a a theme of Many Early books a and details the sad hard life of Clotel bom of a slave master and a slave. It provides graphic details of slave life. Another of the books is the first novel by a Black published in this country a a your nig or sketches from the life of a free Blacks by Harriet e. Wilson. It was published in 1859 but was lost for years until researchers from Yale University Drew attention to it in 1982. Parts of Wilson a life paralleled the travails of her heroine Frado an indentured servant to a brutal White family in 19th Century Massachusetts. A third Early novel a Viola Leroy by Frances . Harper was published in 1892. It was one of the Early Post reconstruction literary efforts to combat contemporary White fiction depicting a romantic South where All slaves were Happy and the slaveholders kind. Los Angeles times reviews Morley safer flashbacks on returning to Vietnam by Morley safer random House 225 pp., $18.95 Morley safer a Book began in 1989 As one More trip to Vietnam one made for �?o60  no War this time just the thoughts of the vietnamese who fought it and America a and won. The return to Vietnam was a bit eerie for safer who did two lbs Tours of Vietnam during the War the first yielding his controversial 1965 report on the burning of Cam no Village by marines who said they a taken fire from there. Safe re strip began in Hanoi. He also hit to Chi Minh City Danang Hue and Quang Tri City which was bitterly fought Over in 1972 by North and South vietnamese troops. It is rubble he said a still smashed to hell after All these  he interviewed War crippled North vietnamese grunts a Viet Cong nurse the North a legendary military Genius to Nguyen Giap and a former battalion surgeon who worked North of the demilitarized zone among others. His views on Vietnam today and the people he interviewed Are mixed but Well Worth Reading. Jay Sharbutt associated press september by Rosamunde Pilcher St. Martins 536 pp., $22.95 this new novel by the author of the megabit a the Shell seekers is sure to be among the books people carry off for summer vacation Reading. The Book is a Little like Reading a soap opera about two Large and eccentric families in the Small scottish Village of Strathroy. Perhaps to satisfy her trans Atlantic readers briton Rosamunde Pilcher throws an american into the plot too. Where the Book shines is not so much the plot or the characters but in her descriptions of Scotland. It is entertaining fare even though a couple of Loose ends Are tied up too conveniently. It is certain to keep her fans Loyal. Jill Lai United press International dragon by Clive Cussler Simon amp schuster 542 pp., $21.95 a a dragon is a lesson in global economics allegedly japanese style. The japanese a particularly the businessmen a Are the villains in this thriller desiring to take Over the world with economic Power. A group of powerful businessmen is trying to avenge Japan a loss in world War ii and assert dominance Over the United states. Their weapon is nuclear blackmail a despite Japan a vaunted anti nuclear stance a and involves planting atomic bombs in japanese cars and exporting them to America and other countries. Hero Dirk Pitts assignment to Stop the japanese. If you like adventure this novel has plenty including a modern Day Man Hunts Man chapter with credit to Richard Connellis Story a the most dangerous game Quot and. If you can get Over the Japan bashing and the Lucky coincidence that the United states during world War ii just happened to drop an As yet unexploded nuclear bomb in japanese Waters in just the right spot this Story is a great adventure. Roberto Raymondo United press International the spy went dancing by Aline countess of ramones Putnam a 320 pp., $19.95 Amine the countess who was a spy is at it again with another of her adventures set this time in Madrid and Europe in 1966. Although the War is Over espionage is not and a a Tiger finds herself once again in the thick of things this time assisted by her Friend the Duchess of Windsor. The countess finds her newest assignment finding a deeply entrenched mole is intrinsically tied to her past. And although the War has been Over 20 years the danger from the past is still fresh. A the spy went dancing is irresistible. Kathleen Ostrander United press International All books available at stars and stripes  8 c sunday june 10,1990 Best Sellers fiction me stand by Stephen King last week 1 weeks on 2 september by Rosamunde Pilcher last week 2 weeks 3 Mohe places you la go by or. Seuss last week 4 i  Crissler last week 3 weeks on list 5 5 the Golden Orange by Joseph Wambaugh last week 5 weeks on list 4 an inconvenient women by Dominick Dunne last week 7 weeks on list 5 7 the Bourne ultimatum by Robert Ludlum last week 6 weeks on list 13 3 Skinny legs and All by Tom Robbins last week 8 weeks on list 8 9 family pictures by sue Miller last week. 9, weeks on list 5 ii h Clear and present danger by Tom Clancy last week 10, weeks on list 41 non fiction 1 men at work by George f. Will last week 1 weeks on list 9 2 Dave Barry turns 40 by Dave Barry last week 7 weeks on list 2 3 Meg trends 2000 by John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene last week 2 weeks on list 20 4 barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar last week 3 weeks on list 20 5 All i really need to know i Learned in kindergarten by Robert Fulghum last week 5 weeks on list 83 6ii was on fire when 1 Lay Down on it by Robert Fulghum last week 6 weeks on list 38 7 liars poker by Michael Lewis last week 8 weeks on list 31 8 in the Arena by Richard Nixon last week 4 weeks on list 7 9 my tile in three acts by Helen Hayes with Katherine Hatch first week on list. 10 father son amp co. By Thomas j. Watson or and Peter Petre first week on list paperback fiction 1 Joy Luck club by Amy Tan weeks on list 3 i warriors woman by Johanna Lindsey weeks on list 1 3 creature by John Saul weeks on list 2 4 the servants of Twilight by Dean r. Koontz weeks on list 7 5 Day of the cheetah by Dale Brown weeks on list 1 6 a prayer Lor Owen Meaney by John Irving weeks on list 5 7 red Phoenix by Larry Bond weeks on list 5 8 sins of the flesh by Fern Michaels weeks on list 1 9 the Shell seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher weeks on list 60 10 the Temple of my familiar by Alice Walker weeks on list 4 paperback non fiction 1 when a Rabbit howls by Truddie Chase weeks on list 1 2 All i really need to know i Learned in kindergarten by Robert Fulghum weeks on list 29 3 a woman named Jackie by Jack Olsen weeks on list 3 4 from Cradle to grave by Joyce Egginton weeks on list 5 5 love and marriage by Bill Cosby weeks on list 5 6 a Brief history of time by Stephen hawking weeks on list 1 ? Why me by Sammy Davis or. And Burt Boyar weeks on list 1 8 the Road less travelled by m. Scott Peck weeks on list 346 a 9 reasonable doubt by Steve Vogel weeks on list 2 10 funny you done to look like a grandmother by Lois Wyse weeks on list 5 paperback miscellaneous 1 50 simple things you can do to sve the Earth by the earthworks group weeks on list 18 2 weirdos from another planet by Bill Watterson weeks on list 12 3 codependent no More by Melanie Beattie weeks on list 92 4 Rand Mcnally Road Atlas by Rand Mcnally weeks on list 16 5 50 simple things kids can do to save the Earth by the earthworks group weeks on list 6 compiled by the new York times stars and stripes Best Sellers fiction 1 the stand by Stephen King 2 Bright Star by Harold Coyle 3 dragon by Clive Cussler 4 september by Rosamunde Pilcher 5 the bad place by Dean Koontz 6 the Bourne ultimatum by Robert Ludlum 7 Skinny legs and All by Tom Robbins 8 death Gate Cycle dragon Wing by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman 9 masquerade by Janet Dailey 10 the evening news by Arthur Hailey non fiction 1 Means of ascent by Robert Caro 2 it was on fire when i Lay Down on it by Robert Fulghum 3 barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar 4 in the Arena by Richard Nixon 5 men at work by George will 6 Meg trends 2000 by John Naisbitt and Patricia aburdene7 secrets about men every woman should know by Barbara de Angelis 8 magic touch by magic Johnson 9 Garbo by Antoni Granowicz 10 Kareem by Kareem Abdul Jabbar pundits must not forget their place William Safire new York times a useful linguistic Scapegoat or whipping boy has been created in time for the presidential Campaign of 1992. A the seven million votes i got did no to come from no a pundits a a the Rev. Jesse Jackson said in a recent interview when asked for a reaction to press critics who charged him with a a descent into triviality because he chose not to run for mayor of Washington As Many columnists and editorial writers had urged. Jackson Savouring the word that characterized his would be tormentors used it again in the same interview a when i was talking to a 27-year-old Perdue worker last week who has bursitis in her wrist from plucking 50 chickens a minute and no health insurance she did no task for no  a the democratic non candidate a locution meaning a one who has not yet officially announced his candidacy for tactical equal time or fund raising reasons but is widely presumed to be a candidate twice placed the target word within a double negative. I suspect that Jackson a skillful user of the language and soon to become a talk show Host committed this sole ism deliberately even defiantly to firmly dissociate himself from such users of Standard English As political commentators. I just firmly split an infinitive to show i ainu to no elitist a Pandit a is sanskrit for a scholar Learned Many the hindi word based on it is a Pandit. However the English word that evolved from it has Long been used to mock pretension. A a pundit is an expert on nothing but an authority on everything. As Long As a pundit Quot had a self mocking connotation writers of opinion could apply it to themselves with impunity. However in recent years some of us have taken to using it without the necessary disrespect and As a result have Given political figures a Handy term with which to castigate us. In this column i am a language a maven a a word with a Range of senses from a a aficionado to a enthusiast Quot to a a scholars to a a Connors i  in another incarnation i am a political a pundit Quot variously defined As a opinion Molder Sage seer controversial St i Vidia Tor  the word a a pundit lends itself to alliterative attack a a Petty petulant Peck sniffin political pundits preying in packs on Protic tors of the Public a and if it is to be a target in 1992, we will be tempted to defend our glorious calling. The danger in that of course is that we might forget that punditry is self denigrating in using the term As we have been we poke fun at our own pretensions of sagacity. Should the term become a Scapegoat we might lose our perspective and embrace it without its mockery a and who knows perhaps voters in need will turn from what Lyn Don b. Johnson called a chronic campaigners Quot to their helpful local pundit. June 10, 1990 sunday Page 9