Sowa's Red Gravy Stories is filled with passion, humor, wit and grit. Writer Diane Richards has the same affection, reverence and mystical empathy for African American folklore and storytelling that can be found in the works of Zora Neale Hurston. Best of all, her work keeps alive the all but forgotten craft of creating authentic American fables.
William H. Banks, Jr.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
THE HARLEM WRITERS GUILD, INC.
Diane Richards is the “voice” of the New Harlem Renaissance. Her narrator, Sowa, is very much alive as she reaches back into southern tradition and folklore to give us stories reminiscent of Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes and Jean Toomer. She is an author to watch.
Ruby Dee
Actress
Sowa is a mythmaker revitalizing the tradition of southern folklore. Red Gravy Stories capture the sound, heart and fury of African American culture. Richards is a supreme poet ahead of her time. These stories will be told over and over again for generations to come.
Angela Kinamore, Poetry Editor
ESSENCE MAGAZINE
Diane Richards is an excellent writer. Voodoo, Black Magic and All Kinds of Mess should be a theater piece or a screenplay.
Woodre King
NEW FEDERAL THEATRE
Sowa's Red Gravy Stories compel me to read them; I don't want to put them down. This is a powerful piece of work from a gifted writer.
Tina Sattin, Actress
Founder and Director
Open Cage Theatre