THE BUZZ
What is being said about the novel, tor’cha:
“Todd Craig’s writing can hold more weight than the mighty 59th St. Bridge during rush hour. He is a combo of Zora Neale Hurston and Bonz Malone. A classic New York slice of pizza, hold the swine…”
Bobbito Garcia,
DJ and Author “Where’d You Get Those? New York City’s Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987″ (Testify Books)
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“Todd Craig’s tor’cha is a book that compels his readers to think of scriptural commands with hip hop flavor and Supreme Mathematics as it’s applied to one’s life in relationship to the grand scheme of the universe. tor’cha will get’cha to think about Supreme Mathematics and Knowledge add a Cipher – the Ten Commandments – that brought’cha into existence to righteously rule the universe!”
Allah B
The renowned Elder of the Nation of Gods & Earths
Executive Director of Allah School in Mecca
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“From the Ten Commandments through Supreme Mathematics, Todd Craig weaves a head spinning tale that captures New York – its intoxicating highs as well as its gritty lows – with an unblinking eye.”
HS Miller
Writer and Director of “Anamorph” (IFC / Kamala Films)
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“Todd Craig takes readers deep into the darkness in order to show us the light. Written in a street-smart style, this book should be required reading for anyone taken in by the glamorization of the gangsta culture.”
Geoffrey Canada
President and CEO
Harlem Children’s Zone
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“tor’cha is a remarkable book, a credit to the writer and to the adventurousness of Swank Books. Several things give the book its special power, for me at least: 1) the mix of various idioms (African American street, biblical, formal, and maybe especially a kind of deliberately unidiomatic standard English, as though not only was my consciousness being invaded by the perceptions of another culture but so was my language); 2) the existential struggle against deprivation and ruin carried out by most of the characters; 3) the moral and religious anguish to get right and do right in a hood that has been virtually cordoned off by the dominant culture. To contain such powerful themes and feelings within a controlled work is a special credit to the writer. Virtually every minute I am reading the book I feel that I am walking through a field of potential land mines–hyperbole, angry rant, black despair, naked unrestrained polemics, etc. What I get instead is passion and at the heart of that passion faith, hope, and love–just what the good book says. Not to say that there isn’t hideous suffering and tragedy, but it seems to me never irredeemable.”
Eugene Garber
Author of “Vienna øø”
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“Todd Craig is a brilliant young writer. His first book, tor’cha, is the riveting account of the spiritual odyssey of urban youth. The powerful journey draws the reader into complex relationships of love, hate and compromise. In the process of shaping his characters, Craig raises pivotal questions concerning the silent war that rages in inner cities across the nation. Read this book and ponder the answers that can lead us to hope.”
Dr. Bessie W. Blake,
Author of “Speak to the Mountain”
(USA Book News ‘07 Best Book Award)
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“Todd Craig’s tor’cha shines the light on the duality of neighborhood life for our youth: the street philosophy and codes and it’s antithesis – religion. Backed by music that takes you deeper into the fold by creating an atmosphere of pain, anger, and shock, this is not just a read but an experience.”
Mr.LeN
www.ustream.tv/channel/we-are-uniblab
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“The challenge with Black literature is to keep it relevant to the target audience while also securing a place in the larger body of word literature. The problem with a large part of what ‘passes’ as Back literature is that it is just fast food black (yeah a small ‘b’ on purpose) literature. It is only reflective of a small segment of Black life. It also offers nothing to that segment. It doesn’t get to the root of issues, it doesn’t connect it to larger problems, and it doesn’t offer solutions. tor’cha is that answer. It has layers that allow you to dig deeper and deeper into it. It connects with that street youth on the corner while at the same time can be found in the backpack of a college student at a historically Black college. Each layer is a meal. I have a hard time with a lot of the current onslaught of Black literature because it either offers this idealized view of the street life or it is just so nihilistic. If you are going to show the struggle show the fortitude. Show how the person realizes and implements solutions. Also, get your writing game up. INNOVATE new forms of story telling. The same way that people like Hype Williams and Spike Lee innovated cinematic techniques with video and movies can be manifested in writing. Todd Craig has a magnetic story style that is all his own and will draw you in.”
C’BS Alife,
Original Thought Magazine
www.originalthoughtmag.com
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“The symbiotic relationship between the book and CD opens the reader up to an entirely new experience in fiction. This brilliant stories-with-soundtrack format creates a similar experience to that of watching a movie, except that this experience allows the reader to provide their own visual content, driven by the printed text, the soundtrack, and the combination of both. By breaking down everyday situations into lowest common spiritual denominators based on the overlap between Biblical Scriptures and Supreme Mathematics, Craig springs forth as a sort of urban prophet illuminating the underbelly of Queens as a microcosm for global society. Craig’s uncompromising verbal technique takes readers on a visceral roller coaster ride through the bosom and bowels of the Projects, only to emerge from the dark tunnel awestruck, like a pair of eyes encountering the blinding clarity of daylight after a ride on the subway. “
Dinorah de Jesús Rodriguez
South Florida Times
http://alternativeage.blogspot.com/search/label/books
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“To grow up in Hip-Hop means more than just listening to the music or throwing up some aimless tag on a subway car. Rather, it means growing up in an environment where people are often filled with the same kind of abysmal introspection Ghostface Killah is imbued with on the track Can It All Be So Simple. Luckily, there are writers within the genre who keep with James Baldwin’s assertion that “all art is a kind of confession” in which all artists have an obligation to themselves and their craft to ‘vomit’ up the truth. Todd Craig is one such writer.”
Malcolm Nelson
Liberator Magazine
www.liberatormagazine.com