Hunter, Karen 1945-

views updated

HUNTER, Karen 1945-

PERSONAL: Born 1945. Education: Attended Drew University, B.A. (English literature).

ADDRESSES: Office—New York Daily News, 450 West 33rd St., New York, NY 10001. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and journalist. Legal Outreach, New York, NY, instructor; began as a sports writer for Daily News, New York, 1988, then became a staff reporter, business writer, and entertainment writer.

New York University, New York, NY, instructor, 1996-98; Hunter College of the City University of New York, visiting assistant professor, 2002—.

AWARDS, HONORS: Pulitzer Prize (as part of Daily News editorial team), 1999, for best editorial writing; National Association of Black Journalists award, for series on rap music; awards from Associated Press, Deadline Club, and Sigma Delta Chi.

WRITINGS:

(With L. L. Cool J.) I Make My Own Rules, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Queen Latifah) Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman, William Morrow (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Mason Betha) Revelations: There's a Light after the Lime, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Al Sharpton) Al on America, Dafina (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Wendy Williams) Wendy's Got the Heat, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Karen Hunter is a journalist and the first black woman to write a news column for the New York Daily News. Hunter collaborated with a number of celebrities in writing their books, including entertainer Queen Latifah. In Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman, the actress and rapper recalls her difficult childhood, rise to stardom, personal losses, and addictions. She relates how her faith in God and the support of family and friends helped her turn her life around. A Publishers Weekly contributor called the book "less a biography than a motivational tract." Ginger Schwartz wrote in School Library Journal that Ladies First "will inspire and motivate young women of any background to discover who they are."

Hunter's collaboration with the Reverend Al Sharpton produced Al on America, published at the time Sharpton announced his candidacy for the 2004 Democratic presidential race. Black Issues Book Review contributor E. Assata Wright commented that "like every other book in this category, Al on America is long on political platitudes and short on realistic public policy. Throughout the book, the reverend proudly flaunts his old-school brand of liberalism. Although he steers clear of specific campaign promises, he endorses a number of broad principles that come straight from the most marginalized corners of the Democratic Party."

Sharpton describes how he was groomed by his mentors, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Jesse Jackson, and James Browne. The book details what Sharpton considers his successes and his failures, the latter including his support of Tawana Brawley, who in 1987 claimed she had been raped by a gang of white men, a charge that was later proved to be a hoax. Sharpton comes across as the controversial figure he is, a supporter of the Million-Man March, a man who, he says, was tricked by Yasser Arafat into shaking hands for a photo op, a man who served three months in jail for protesting the U.S. Navy's bombing exercises in Vieques, Puerto Rico, and a man who, in this book, alleges that former President Bill Clinton duped black Americans.

"For those who have tracked Sharpton's evolution over the years, it is almost endearing to watch him struggle to adjust to middle age and the middle class," wrote Adam Nagourney in the New York Times Book Review. "There is Sharpton, the father of teenage girls, lamenting the depravity of the kids today....And there is Sharpton, embarking on his presidential campaign and sounding like a presidential candidate, right down to lists of policy proposals. We are not, thankfully, talking Earth in the Balance here, but if you ever wanted to find out what Sharpton thinks about globalization, you'll find it in this book." Booklist's Vernon Ford felt that "readers interested in politics and this controversial figure will enjoy reading Sharpton's own views on his platform."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, November-December, 2002, E. Assata Wright, review of Al on America, p. 49.

Booklist, January 1, 1999, Mike Tribby, review of Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman, p. 798; October 15, 2002, Vernon Ford, review of Al on America, p. 384.

Chicago Tribune, October 16, 2002, Clarence Page, review of Al on America.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2002, review of Al on America, p. 1290.

New York Times Book Review, December 1, 2002, Adam Nagourney, review of Al on America, p. 29.

Publishers Weekly, December 14, 1998, review of Ladies First, p. 69; August 26, 2002, review of Al on America, p. 54.

School Library Journal, May, 1999, Ginger J. Schwartz, review of Ladies First, p. 161.

Washington Times, November 15, 2002, Deborah Simmons, review of Al on America.