The Great Divide. It is the Information Age, and the election results have incited riots of seismic proportions. Outside, the streets call for a truce, a brief respite from the pandemonium. Inside, Shirley, Jack and Clovis sit in limbo, engulfed in a sea of conflicting emotions while trapped in a cramped elevator shaft, quite an unpleasant way to get acquainted.

The second offering from Gordon Manning is one for the ages. A scintillating dark comedy with a colorful cast of characters, "Shirley, Goodness and Mercy" is an invitation to openness, a bluntly refreshing peek into the way we think when the lights go down.

"Some people love animals. Some people eat animals. Most people say they love animals and eat them anyway. Welcome to America folks. Land of the free. Home of the brave. Land of opportunity. Home of opportunists. And the rest of us? Well, we just hang on for dear life till the train comes to a complete stop. So far away from home, so close to what might have been ." excerpt from Fear of a Black *****

"'Niggas," Where Are Your Anthems?" is a wonderful collection of heartfelt observations, engaging first person narratives, and conversational poetry rooted in the peaks and valleys of the 'black experience." Author and playwright Gordon Douglas Manning combines razor sharp commentary with gritty humor, weaving both into a magical tapestry of life as a fly on the wall. Warm and inviting, "'Niggas"" delves into the psyche of the black man in America, providing a fascinating portrait of the shadow that lives within each of us.