I think that one has to make the distinction between popular fiction and true literature, true literature has to do with learning and knowledge and some modicum of literary ability in terms of writing. Popular fiction deals with what is popular now and can make a fast buck. If one looked at the Harlem Renaissance Letter movement one can see that the authors of those times wrote about what was happeninig in that time period in a literary fashion hence literature. We do have some true African American Literature Authors such as Toni Morrison who is hard to understand at times, Alice Walker,- Toni Cade Bambera, Maya Angelou, and others who fall out of the main stream popular authors, again literature has to do with learning and an accurate portrayal of the times it was written in with some modicum of literate writing!
