Black Book

In Black Book, Robert Mapplethorpe presents an astonishing photographic study of black men today. In their diversity, impact, subtlety, technical virtuosity, erotic appeal, and deep humanity, these photographs constitute a stunning celebration of the contemporary black male.

"all my life they've been near me/these men" says Ntozake Shange in her Foreword, "i've been holdin your heart in/my hand since i was a child/cause i wanted what all you were/what all you are/now you're a man."

Mapplethorpe presents an astonishing photographic study of black men today. In their diversity, impact, erotic appeal and deep humanity, these photographs constitute a stunning celebration of the contemporary black male. Black-and-white photos throughout.

At forty, Robert Mapplethorpe is probably the most talked about photographer in America, and one of the most successful, with over 110 solo and group exhibits in the last seven years, his work in the permanent collections of major museums in this country and abroad, and two successful books to his credit: Lady: Lisa Lyon (1983) and Certain People (1985).

Ntozake Shange is the author of "for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf," Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo, and Betsey Brown.