Chapters (31)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Room in the Dark I
- Fawns of the Diaspora Court Liliane in Paris, While Tabou Combo Whispers “Coq Qualité” in Her Ears
- Room in the Dark II
- “I Usedta Drink, Smoke and Do the Hoochie-Koo,” or What’s a Girl to Do When Her Mother Looks Like Ruth Brown
- Room in the Dark III
- “El Bochinche” es que only Fe Cortijo Knows or All the LeBron Brothers Know If Victor-Jésus María Sang Lili to Her Freedom
- Room in the Dark IV
- And Where Is Garnett Mimms?
- Room in the Dark V
- I Know Where Kansas City Is, But Did Wilbert Harrison Ever Get There?
- Room in the Dark VI
- Zoom Went the Strings of Liliane’s Heart, But Arsenio Rodriguez Could Have Told Her the Music Sounds Just as Sweet When We’re Blind and Still We See
- Room in the Dark VII
- I Know Where the E Train Stops But I’m “Sendin’ Out an S.O.S.” and I’m Not Edwin Starr Either
- Room in the Dark VIII
- “Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby” or Wouldn’t It Be Great If the Lead Singer of The Crests Wasn’t a White Boy and I Could Be My Mother?
- Room in the Dark IX
- Every Time My Lil World Seems Blue, I Just Haveta Look at You and Learn Eye-Hand Coordination
- Room in the Dark X
- “That’s Why I Love Her So and Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I Want to Know” or Why Jackie Wilson Died in Silence
- Room in the Dark XI
- There’s No Use Cryin’ “Forever” or Hyacinthe Returns from a Very Blue Holiday for Real B(l)ack at Ya
- Room in the Dark XII
- Lollie Struts Her Stuff Thru “The Sea of Love” or the Brides of Frankenstein Catch the Bouquet
- By Ntozake Shange
- Acknowledgments
- Copyright
But this is where Liliane crafted a delicate social structure, penetrable only by her, and contrived for her desires and her protection. It was akin to Impressionism, Liliane believed. See, you pick up what gleams and stands out lovely from hardness and hushing up. You pull these startling elements onto a canvas of your own, and that’s your life.
And Danny Stuyvesant was changing Liliane’s universe. Daddy’s presence had meandered solemnly and with a certain I-know-something-he-don’t-know from one porch to another, til somebody who knew one of the cousins who knew which cousin Liliane was losing her mind with could tell somebody to go past the mass of grindin’, wanderin’ hands, sepia adagios, to get Liliane outta whatever she was in and wherever that was so she could look at herself before the Judge sauntered up the steps, tapping his foot, enjoying the niggahness of the music, and the much more significant appearance of his daughter, looking how she should, almost sculptured, sensually supple and innocent.
Liliane thought it was marauders pullin’ at her, pullin’ her way from Danny Stuyvesant’s fascinating biceps. This is biology. “Oh, no. Not now,” this is Liliane screaming and kicking at Danny’s cousins, Matthew and Luke. Then, even Johnnie Boy came to help her help herself get together cause Papa was only two doors down the street. Liliane shot up straight like she knew something about male ritual. All she knew was her daddy was a hop, step, and a jump away. And all these young men who’d had no sisters—so they had never dressed a girl—they were hopping round Liliane, pullin’ and tuggin’. Matthew dried her face with his handkerchief. Johnnie Boy was fixin’ her slip. Luke was straightenin’ out her bra and Danny Stuvyesant with no sense kept puttin’ his tongue in her ear and runnin’ his hands thru her hair till Johnnie Boy asked him how eager was he to go to Annondale Reformatory. “Remember, fool, her father’s the Judge.”
“Cry, Cry, Baby, Cry Baby” was all Liliane could hear. She didn’t hear Danny saying he was coming out to the shore on Tuesday. She didn’t hear herself giggle, sayin’ what a good time she’d had and thankin’ all the cousins for invitin’ her; she didn’t hear herself kiss her papa on his cheek and ask if he’d had a hard day. She heard her heart breakin’ and some new place in her wishin’ nobody had ever come in that room of flowers and Friday night temptation, wishin’ there’d be no dawn, wishin’ Danny had left the stars all up and down her thighs.