{"product_id":"beg-borrow-steal-the-visionary-art-of-melvin-van-peebles","title":"Beg Borrow Steal \/\/ The Visionary Art of Melvin Van Peebles and the Rise of Independent Black Cinema (Pre-order, Jan 26 2027)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn essential history of modern Black cinema, as led by avant-garde filmmaker, director, novelist, composer, and playwright Melvin Van Peebles.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBeg Borrow Steal\u003c\/i\u003e, a title inspired by Black artists’ make-a-way-out-of-no-way ethos, is a stirring and remarkable deep dive into Black independent film and culture, as modeled by raconteur and iconoclast Melvin Van Peebles. Award-winning writer Santi Elijah Holley enriches the extraordinary history with interviews from today’s most innovative Black independent filmmakers and actors, such as Julie Dash, Charles Burnett, and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as Van Peebles’s published and unpublished manuscripts, critical reviews, analyses, and reflections.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIndependent Black artists across all disciplines—from music and theater to literature and poetry—continue to push boundaries, challenge stereotypes, and pursue their own vision, away from traditional gatekeepers. The success of artists like Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, Jordan Peele, and Ryan Coogler can be traced directly to the pioneering work of Van Peebles, whose ambitious and innovative multidisciplinary artistry never yielded to anybody else’s vision but his own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a Black American who’d overcome poverty, discrimination, and other obstacles, Van Peebles refused to let White America take advantage of him and his talent. It’s made him a beacon for every Black auteur and independent filmmaker of the past 50 years.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSinners, Black Panther, Sorry to Bother You, Get Out, She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Boyz n the Hood, Shaft, Superfly, Daughters of the Dust, Selma,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ethe list goes on. It is impossible to imagine any of these culturally defining films existing, if not for the groundwork laid by Melvin Van Peebles’s 1971\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song\u003c\/i\u003e. It is canon in Black film.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBeg Borrow Steal\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eis the story of the legendary man who provided the blueprint for independent Black cinema, and a tribute to the power of radical Black creativity in American art and culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSanti Elijah Holley\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003ehas reported for more than a decade on the intersec­tion of culture, music, race, religion, and politics. His work has appeared in numerous national and inter­national outlets, including \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe Atlantic, National Geographic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eNPR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe New Republic, The Economist, The Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Holley is the recipient of grants from PEN America and the Robert B. Silvers Foundation, and he was awarded an Oregon Literary Fellowship for nonfiction. His previous book \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e was a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Editors' Choice, an Amazon Editors' Pick for Best History, an NPR selection for the \"Books We Love,\" a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Best Book of the Year, a finalist for the Ann M. Sperber Book Prize, and longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. He lives in Portland.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublisher: Mariner Books\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublish Date: January 26, 2027\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePages: 336\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLanguage: English\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eType: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEAN\/UPC: 9780063383036\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDimensions: \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e9 in H | 6 in W | 1 in T | 1 lb Wt\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBISAC Categories: Music, Biography \u0026amp; Memoir, Politics, History\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Santi Elijah Holley","offers":[{"title":"(Pre-order, Jan 26 2027) Hardcover","offer_id":49076965638379,"sku":"9780063383036","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0253\/4014\/9820\/files\/9780063383036.jpg?v=1784517722","url":"https:\/\/rep.club\/products\/beg-borrow-steal-the-visionary-art-of-melvin-van-peebles","provider":"Reparations Club","version":"1.0","type":"link"}