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
——— No, I don’t want to lie down. Dead people lie down. Roxie was in her bed lying down. That bastard. That cocksuckin’ bastard.
——— You saw Roxie recently, didn’t you, Lili?
——— Yes, of course. Our show opened two days ago. She had these wonderful jalapeño earrings on that lit up every ten seconds. The work was so strong too. Roxie was so happy, so happy, but I knew it. I knew she had to get away from that jackass. I knew it. And now, he’s gone and killed her. Strangled her, stabbed her. I knew it. I knew it. Oh God. Oh, I knew. I could feel it.
——— But did Roxie know it?
——— Yes, we all told her. We told her over and over. This guy is not right, Roxie. Get him out of the house. We told her…. And Sierra saw this. This fool ties her mother’s hands and feet with pantyhose, stabs her and chokes her. Oh God. Oh God. I feel like something’s ripping me apart, tearing my soul up, tearin’ me to pieces…. What can I do? Please, please, I don’t know what to do.
——— Here’s some tissue…. No need to rush or hurry, Liliane. Take time.
——— Time. Time. Take my time. I could’ve gone over there. I could have called to see if she was all right. I could have taken Sierra for the night. Oh, Jesus, what kind of friend am I? I knew something terrible was going to happen. I knew. I knew and I didn’t do anything. I didn’t do anything. Roxie’s dead, murdered, and I didn’t do anything.
——— Liliane. First. Hear me out now. First of all, you did not kill Roxie. I know this hurts. She meant a great deal to you. You loved her very much, but you did not kill Roxie or help her to get killed. You were her friend. She was not a friend to herself.
——— Shut up! Shut up! You don’t understand. That muthafuckah was everywhere, all the time tellin’ her that she was weak, she couldn’t draw a straight line. She couldn’t cook. She couldn’t balance a checkbook. She dressed like a slut. She was a tramp with good luck. She was a pitiful mother. She didn’t deserve the grants she got, the reviews. He said she didn’t deserve him. Can you imagine. Him. And that bastard killed her.
——— That’s right, Liliane. He killed her, not you.