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Summary
Summary
FEATURED IN: The New York Times Book Review ("New and Noteworthy") * Essence * Newsweek * People * Bustle * PopSugar * Refinery 29 * HelloGiggles' * PureWow * Newsday * AMNewYork
The Ultimate Beyoncé Collectible
" Beyoncé fans will eat it up." -- People
"You don't need to be in the Beyhive to appreciate Queen Bey.. .Voices including culture critic Luvvie Ajayi and actress and producer Lena Waithe give us a fresh take on Beyoncé, who's arguably the biggest pop star of our time." -- Essence
Beyoncé. Her name conjures more than music, it has come to be synonymous with beauty, glamour, power, creativity, love, and romance. Her performances are legendary, her album releases events. She is not even forty but she has already rewritten the Beyoncé playbook more than half a dozen times. She is consistently provocative, political and surprising. As a solo artist, she has sold more than 100 million records. She has won 22 Grammys and is the most-nominated woman artist in the history of Grammy awards. Her 2018 performance at Coachella wowed the world. The New York Times wrote: "There's not likely to be a more meaningful, absorbing, forceful and radical performance by an American musician this year or any year soon." Artist, business woman, mother, daughter, sister, wife, black feminist, Queen Bey is endlessly fascinating.
Queen Bey features a diverse range of voices, from star academics to outspoken cultural critics to Hollywood and music stars. Essays include:
"What Might a Black Girl Be in This World," an introduction by Veronica Chambers
"Beychella is Proof That Beyoncé is the Greatest Performer Alive. I'm Not Arguing." by Luvvie Ajayi
"On the Journey Together," by Lena Waithe
"What Beyoncé Means to Everyone," by Meredith Broussard with visualizations by Andrew Harvard and Juan Carlos Mora
"Jay-Z's Apology to Beyoncé Isn't Just Celebrity Gossip -- It's a Political Act" by Brittney Cooper
"All Her Single Ladies" by Kid Fury
"The Elevator" by Ylonda Gault
"The Art of Being Beyoncé" by Maria Brito
"Getting, Giving and Leaving" by Melissa Harris Perry and Mankaprr Conteh
"Beyoncé the Brave" by Reshma Saujani
"Living into the Lemonade: Redefining Black Women's Spirituality in the Age of Beyoncé" by Candice Benbow
"Beyoncé's Radical Ways" by Carmen Perez
"Finding la Reina in Queen Bey" by Isabel Gonzalez Whitaker
"Beyoncé, Influencer" by Elodie Maillet Storm
"The King of Pop and the Queen of Everything" by Michael Eric Dyson
"Style So Sacred" by Edward Enninful
"The Beauty of Beyoncé" by Fatima Robinson
"Because Beyoncé." by Ebro Darden
"King Bey" by Treva B. Lindsey
"Meridonial: Beyoncé's Southern Roots and References" by Robin M. Boylorn
"B & V: A Love Letter" by Caroline Clarke
Author Notes
Veronica Chambers was born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn. She attended Simon's Rock College at Bard. She is a prolific writter. Mama's Girl is her acclaimed memoir. Some of her other work includes Kickboxing Geishas: How Japanese Women Are Changing Their Nation, and The Joy of Doing Things Badly: A Girl's Guide to Love, Life and Foolish Bravery. She has contributed to several anthologies and has also written books for children and teens. Her latest book as a contributor is in Michael Strahan's book, Wake Up Happy: The Dream Big, Win Big Guide to Transforming Your Life.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
In this collection of 19 essays, compiled by author and New York Times archival storytelling editor Chambers, academics, journalists, social media personalities, designers, and other contributors expound on the majesty of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. Author Luvvie Ajayi attributes Beyoncé's greatness as an entertainer to the singer's desire for perfection, as seen in the hours spent "every day, practicing" for "25 years" and evident in her powerful 2018 Coachella Festival performance. Producer and actor Lena Waithe says that Beyoncé's effort to show how "we're all made of the same stuff and on the same boat" makes her so admired, down-to-earth, and approachable. Author and professor Brittney Cooper says that the singer changed rap and hip-hop's negative perceptions of black women when husband Jay-Z admitted to having affairs. His decision to publicly take responsibility through his and Beyoncé's music and tours was a catalyst that made it possible "for a different kind of cultural conversation" to occur. Perhaps one of the first seriously published biographic reflections of the performer often referred to as "Queen Bey," this compendium of carefully curated pieces reveals the modern-day activism and feminist mystique behind the actions on and off-stage of a contemporary icon. -VERDICT A pop culture must-have in libraries that serve older teens and new adults.-Sabrina Carnesi, Crittenden Middle School, Newport News, VA © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Chambers (The Meaning of Michelle) collects 19 insightful essays celebrating the cultural power of Beyoncé. Contributors- academics, designers, and journalists among them-each address different aspects of the singer's fame, glamour, and political savvy. In "Getting, Giving, and Leaving," political scientist Melissa HarrisPerry compares Beyoncé's notion of feminism to that of privileged white women, writing "Beyoncé FEMINISM is to Becky feminism what purple is to lavender." For designer Maria Brito in "The Art of Being Beyoncé," the performer has "found a way to give new meaning to the power of the image." Elodie Maillet Storm, who works for Getty Images, sees Beyoncé as both social media influencer and "a woman and artist" able to exist without "wanting or needing permission." In "All Her Single Ladies," Kid Fury highlights Beyoncé's importance to him as a gay man: "I felt embraced." The writers in this collection all agree on one thing: Beyoncé is a "reflection of power and possibility," Chambers writes, for black women and for all those who feel marginalized by mainstream culture. Entertaining and illuminating, this essay collection will please readers no matter their Beyoncé fan status level. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A diverse chorus of voices praises the acclaimed songstress and cultural icon.Chambers (The Go-Between, 2017, etc.), the editor of the New York Times archival storytelling team, who, in addition to her own books, has co-authored books by Michael Strahan, Timbaland, Robin Roberts, Eric Ripert, and Marcus Samuelsson, collects essays from distinguished professionals in entertainment, media, and social activism. In an introduction celebrating the "fire in her belly, the almost otherworldly level of focus and ambition in her eyes," Chambers lauds Beyonc's "soundtrack of power and possibility," which buoyed the editor through unexpected life changes. Nigerian author and speaker Luvvie Ajayi rhapsodizes over the singer's immense cultural influence and celebrates her memorable, career-defining performance at the 2018 Coachella Festival. Data journalist Meredith Broussard's graphic biography of "Bey" vividly combines art and geographical statistics. The perspectives Chambers assembles are delightfully manifold and aptly representative of Beyonc as a veteran entertainer and an influential cultural icon transcending age and social status. YouTube sensation Kid Fury commends Beyonc on how much her inclusive productions have consistently impacted the gay community. Other contributors examine Beyonc's referential, allusive artistry, her evolving feminism, her Instagram account, and career comparisons to the upper echelon of female rappers, and there are fair-minded criticisms of her "Formation" and "Lemonade" albums. Collectively, these well-balanced essays amplify the popularity and reach of Beyonc's music and persona across generations of women (and men). The anthology closes with award-winning journalist Caroline Clarke attesting that while perfectionism can be a common trap for girls, when it is applied to superstars like Beyonc, it makes her "a pretty damn good role model for my daughter or anyone, including me." With such a dynamic ensemble of opinions and reflections, the collection will be sweet reading not just for Beyonc's superfans, but also for activists, feminists, and budding vocalists.An uplifting and resounding ovation. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
After similarly anthologizing pieces about the former First Lady in The Meaning of Michelle (2017), editor and writer Chambers shares 19 essays celebrating superstar Beyoncé. In her introduction, Chambers writes that Beyoncé has opened the very possibilities for what Black girls might be, a thought echoed by the following essays, which consider Beyoncé's influence for the Latinx and gay communities as well. The contributors' own work invariably influences what Beyoncé means to them. Choreographer Fatima Robinson, for instance, knows firsthand that Beyoncé is the greatest performer since Michael Jackson. Data-heads will appreciate Meredith Broussard's essay in infographics. Other pieces consider Beyoncé's southernness, spirituality, motherhood, and marriage, as well as her use of social media and the artist-empowering shift it represents, and the ways her creations interact with other works of art. Chambers includes detracting perspectives, too, most affectingly in an essay authored by professor Melissa Harris Perry and her former student Mankaprr Conteh, in which each woman learns from the other. Caroline Clarke's nostalgic, reverent look at her now-grown daughter's ""Beyoncéssion"" closes the collection with appropriate strength.--Annie Bostrom Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Chambers (editor, The Meaning of Michelle) collaborates with cultural critics and academics to provide a nuanced assessment of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, from her time as a member of girl group Destiny's Child to her evolution into a solo artist with Dangerously in Love (2003). Chambers begins by describing the cultural impact of Destiny's Child on herself as an Afro-Latina. While contributors touch on all of Beyoncé's solo albums, Lemonade (2016) receives the most attention, along with her 2018 performance as the first black woman to headline Coachella. Standout essays include those by professor Melissa Harris-Perry (Wake Forest Univ., NC) and student Mankappr Conteh debating the singer's performative feminism, Robin M. Boylorn (Univ. of Alabama) analyzing the artist's carefully crafted public persona, writer Candice Benbow contemplating the performer's spiritual identity, and lawyer Reshma Saujani discussing Beyoncé's candor about experiencing miscarriage. Some pieces fall flat, such as one containing Wikipedia highlights of her career. Yet the collection effectively shows the singer's complexities and her evolving definitions of black womanhood. VERDICT Though not a definitive biography, this work blends performing arts and sociology to offer a starting point for conversations about Beyoncé's enduring status as a cultural icon. [See Prepub Alert, 7/2/18.]-Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Introduction: What Might a Black Girl Be in This World? | p. 1 |
| Beychella Is Proof That Beyoncé Is the Greatest Performer Alive. I'm Not Arguing | p. 13 |
| On the Journey Together | p. 19 |
| Jay-Z's Apology to Beyoncé Isn't Just Celebrity Gossip-It's a Political Act | p. 25 |
| All Her Single Ladies | p. 33 |
| The Elevator | p. 41 |
| The Art of Being Beyoncé | p. 53 |
| Grown Women: A Conversation About Coming of Age with an Icon | p. 61 |
| What Beyoncé Means to Everyone | p. 79 |
| Beyoncé, Influencer | p. 91 |
| The King of Pop and the Queen of Everything | p. 103 |
| Beyoncé the Brave | p. 123 |
| Living into the Lemonade: Redefining Black Women's Spirituality in the Age of Beyoncé | p. 129 |
| Beyoncé's Radical Ways | p. 139 |
| Finding La Retna in Queen Bey | p. 149 |
| Style So Sacred | p. 159 |
| The Beauty of Beyoncé | p. 165 |
| Because Beyoncé | p. 177 |
| King Bey | p. 185 |
| Meridional: Beyoncé's Southern Roots and References | p. 193 |
| B & V: A Love Letter | p. 201 |
| About the Contributors | p. 213 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 223 |