For the hopeless romantics or old souls of the world, romance literature continues to provide the best tales of noble heroics, unconditional love and the best part of all β the happily ever after that we all yearn for.
Although the world of romantic literature hasnβt been the most inclusive placeΒ historically, one local librarian is helping to change that narrative through her new book, "Black Love Matters: Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen and Happily Ever Afters."
The book, released this month, is a "collection of essays about basically, the consumption of romantic media and the Black experience," says Jessica P. Pryde, who is the creator and editor of "Black Love Matters" and an online services librarian at the Pima County Public Library.
The book features essay contributions from authors, librarians and academicians who explore Black love through TV shows, films and novelsΒ in both history and present day, while discussing how Black love in media has helped shape their own experiences.
"I think, especially as people in the Black diaspora, whether we're from the U.S. or the Caribbean, or South America or Central America, we all have this similar experience," Pryde says. "Maybe not in our immediate lives, but just living as Black people is connected to some traumatic experience of our ancestors or of the people that we see in the news with all of the things that are happening, have been happening and will happen, and there's just this need for something to go right. And this idea of not just people loving each other but finding that relationship and that feeling and that growth, that emotional experience, but getting to keep it, too."
Jessica P. Pryde, creator and editor of "Black Love Matters:Β Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen and Happily Ever Afters," poses with her new book that was released this month.
Some contributors include Pryde, University of Arizona doctoral candidate Sarah Hannah GΓ³mez and romance novelists Beverly Jenkins and Christina C. Jones.
Pryde hopes readers will resonate with the contributors' essays and the notion that we all deserve joy and a happily ever after, regardless of race, gender or sexuality.
"The goal in my heart is definitely that people like me, like the other contributors to this book, see themselves or see someone like them and know that they're not alone in their search for representation," she says. "But also to sort of convey this whole idea of Black love mattering in books, in film and television, in life. Just so people who aren't Black, who aren't romance readers, who aren't people who seek out the romance genre or escapist literature, really know where we're coming from and what our wants, needs and desires are for Black joy as a whole."
'Books are kind of my personality.'
She tossed around the idea of creating "Black Love Matters" in 2019 and pitched the idea to Tara Gelsomino, a Twitter mutual who happened to be a literary agent. Pryde says Gelsomino was on board with the idea and was "out the gate ready to go."
After rounds of writing and collaborating with the contributors, the book was picked up and edited by Berkley and published through Penguin Random House. The whole process from idea to finish took over three years, but now that Pryde has finally reached the finish line, she says she feels "some element of relief."
"It feels like we've been waiting for it to come out for so long, but now is like the next part of the journey," she says. "I'm just so excited that more people are getting to know all of the contributors who are just amazing people and the things that they have to say and the thoughts that we're trying to convey together."
Jessica P. Pryde, an online services librarian at the Pima County Public Library, poses for a photo.
Part of that next journey includes participating in the Pima County Public Library's LGBTQ+ Services Committee's 25th anniversary Author Talk Series on Saturday, Feb. 12, from 10-11 a.m. The free online event is in partnership with the libraryβs Kindred Team β a group dedicated to supporting and celebrating the Black community within the library system and externally.
At the event, Pryde will discuss her book and the contributing authors while answering questions from the audience. (You can check out the introductory chapter of "Black Love Matters" on the library website!)Β
Registration for Saturdayβs event is required.
"It's (the book) kind of its own thing and I'm excited and wary about that," she says. "Because there have been books that sort of discuss romance as a whole or that talk about specific elements of romance, there have been romance histories. And some have been more academic, very few have been sort of as accessible as we wanted this one to be. So, it's sort of got a life of its own. And I'm looking forward to hearing what people outside of the romance community have to say."
Pryde insists she has always been some sort of a bibliophile and says that "books are kind of my personality." She currently works as a contributing editor for Book Riot and hosts the bi-weekly "When in Romance" podcast.
After receiving her master's degree in library science, she worked at a high school library in her hometown of Washington, D.C., where she lived with her husband, a native Tucsonan.
Following a tough day at work, she said to her husband, "Do you want to move back to Tucson?" He agreed and the couple made the move to the Old Pueblo in 2014.
"I had visited (Tucson) a bunch and really liked it, you know, not just the weather, but like the size of the city and sort of the vibe," Pryde says. "So I figured it would be a nice place to go that wasn't crazy expensive, like D.C. is. But we also had a family connection too and weβre really, really glad that we've made that choice."
'The door's open, but I havenβt walked through it yet.'
With her new book finally hittingΒ bookstoreΒ shelves and the doors of opportunity wide open, whatβs next for the local author, editor and librarian?
"There are so many things that swirl around my head all the time," she says. "Someone asked if I was planning on doing a series and I haven't talked with Berkley about that yet, but maybe, because there are so many more voices that I would love to bring together to talk about this topic. The door's open, but (I) havenβt walked through it yet."
The official cover of "Black Love Matters:Β Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen and Happily Ever Afters."
Until then, you can find Pryde online through her Book Riot contributions or on her podcast, "When in Romance." Regardless of her next writing endeavor, she will continue to share her love of romance literature and the importance of Black joy and happily ever afters.
"There is something so amazing about reading about people like you. You know, we read stories about all kinds of people all the time and especially if you are not white and cisgender and heterosexual, you're always reading about people who are not like you," Pryde says.
"But picking up a story where maybe it's not exactly your story, but it's people you know, people like your family, like your friends, like the places you grew up and where you went. There's something so important about really being able to see yourself. And there's something really important about reviewing that you're not that different from the mainstream culture when it comes down to it, but that the differences are not going to kill anybody."
