Buckhanon, Kalisha 1977–

PERSONAL: Born 1977. Education: University of Chicago, B.A.; New School University, M.F.A.

ADDRESSES: Home—Chicago, IL, and New York, NY. Agent—c/o Stephen Lee, St. Martin's Press, 175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010.

CAREER: Freelance writer. Instructor in language arts; mentor with PEN America Center's prison-writing program.

MEMBER: Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS: Andrew Mellon Minority undergraduate fellowship; artist fellowship in prose, Illinois Arts Council, 2000; Zora Neale Hurston/Bessie Head Fiction Award, Gwendolyn Brooks Black Writer's Conference, 2002, for "Card Parties."

WRITINGS:

Upstate (epistolary fiction), St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

Author short fiction. Contributor to periodicals, including Michigan Quarterly Review, Black Issues Book Review, and Warpland.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A short-story collection; adapting the story "Card Parties" for the stage.

SIDELIGHTS: Novelist and short story writer Kalisha Buckhanon is the author of Upstate, "a realistic love story that's set against an urban backdrop as gritty as its characters are memorable," according to People contributor Anna Shapiro. Buckhanon, whose first published story, "Card Parties," received the Zora Neale Hurston/Bessie Head Fiction Award, was influenced by such celebrated writers as Nikki Giovanni, John Edgar Wideman, Sonia Sanchez, and Derek Walcott, whom she met while a student at the University of Chicago.

After graduation, Buckhanon moved to New York City to pursue her master's degree in creative writing at New School University. She began Upstate after reading an article stating that the number of African-American males who were incarcerated surpassed the number attending college. "Every Black person I know has been affected by the prison industrial complex," Buckhanon remarked on her Web site. "The Black family unit and relationships between Black men and women have both been shattered by it." Buckhanon envisioned the work as a series of letters between a prison inmate and his girlfriend, and eventually expanded the work into a novel.

Upstate focuses on the relationship between Antonio and Natasha, a pair of Harlem teenagers who are separated after Antonio is sentenced to ten years in prison for killing his father. Antonio steadfastly proclaims his innocence, but he soon grows frustrated and possessive, demanding that Natasha remain faithful. A bright, strong-willed individual, Natasha refuses to compromise her goals. Told in epistolary form, Upstate chronicles the widening gap between the lovers; in the words of Entertainment Weekly contributor Abby West, "Buckhanon beautifully illustrates their diverging paths" through their correspondence. Antonio, his regret palpable, struggles with the hardships of prison life while working toward a high school diploma; Natasha attends an elite college, travels to Paris, and eventually earns a law degree.

Upstate received generally positive reviews, with several critics commenting on the book's ambitious format. "Both funny and sad, their letters are rich with anecdotes about friends and family while detailing their own emotions and actions," stated Elaine Bender in Library Journal. Regina Cash-Clark offered a differing opinion in Black Issues Book Review, noting that the author's skill at characterization "outweighs any deficiencies of style as she delves into the minds of her characters, revealing a story that is well worth the telling." According to Essence contributor Laurina Gibbs, "The novel's inspiring story has a message of hope that's sure to connect with readers."

In Black Issues Book Review, Buckhanon discussed the responsibility of being an African-American writer. "It takes courage to tell our stories, to bring to life the crimes committed against us, the pains inflicted upon us and the admirable way we have developed despite," she wrote. "Our stories are there. It is up to us to find the will, time and inspiration to write them. Who could possibly have more stories to tell than we—a resilient and indestructible people with a catastrophic, prophetic and almost unbelievable history?"

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, January-February, 2005, Regina Cash-Clark, review of Upstate, p. 63; March-April, 2005, Kalisha Buckhanon, "And Now What?," p. 68.

Booklist, December 15, 2004, Whitney Scott, review of Upstate, p. 707.

Entertainment Weekly, January 28, 2005, Abby West, review of Upstate, p. 88.

Essence, January, 2005, Laurina Gibbs, "Three Writers to Watch," p. 93.

Library Journal, January 1, 2005, Elaine Bender, review of Upstate, p. 94.

People, February 21, 2005, Anna Shapiro, review of Upstate, p. 48.

ONLINE

Kalisha Buckhanon Home Page, http://www.kalisha.com (April 1, 2005).