THE SIEGE OF HARLEM

This is political satire and literary parody all in one. It parodies the Uncle Remus tales and the satire is in the Swiftian tradition. An old grandfather tells of the first year in which the part of New York known as Harlem seceded and became a country. A concordat was signed with Columbia University and the subways through Harlem were forced to pay a toll. The U. N. was petitioned to recognize the country and a part of Central Park was planted during the period in which its citizens were blocked off and embargoed. After the first, hard year, Harlem never looked back and the U.S.A. became monotonously white. This is the sort of commentary that tickles like a poke in the ribs and stings like a poke in the eye.