As captivating as her fiction, Morrison’s critical analysis uncovers the failings of American literature’s past and the potential of its future with unflinching scrutiny. Copyright ©1995-2020 Penguin Random House. “A writer’s life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity,” she writes. It’s an essential addition to any reader’s collection. From literary theory, pop culture critiques, and everything in between, writers like Toni Morrison, Toni Cade Bambara, Samantha Irby, and Zadie Smith fuse the personal and the political through their examination of the world that surrounds them. Across the diaspora, Black women writers aren’t just celebrated for their prowess as novelists, but also for their strength as essayists, memoirists, and critics. As always, her work will teach you something new about yourself. Hidden Figures book. She is a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow, a VONA Voices alumna, and the former online editor of Well-Read Black Girl. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Well-Read Black Girl has many different viewpoints and I also learned a lot from that. It’s impossible to walk away from its pages unchanged. Austin Channing Brown’s essay Collection I’m Still Here is an illuminating meditation on faith, race, and what it means to come of age in the shadow of white supremacy. This is a list of African American nonfiction writers who are notable enough to be, or are likely to be, the subject of Wikipedia articles and who are largely known for their books or writing: Denise Monique ( born 1977 ), author of "Despite My Odds: A Memoir," published February 2020, W. E. B. For non-fiction, Negroland by Margo Jefferson is a great look into the lives of more affluent black people in the US this past century, and how they still went through a lot. Penned with tear-inducing humor and heart, Samantha Irby’s New York Times bestseller We Are Never Meeting in Real Life is a tour-de-force collection about love, life, meltdowns, and moments (such as witnessing a Civil War reenactment) that feel stranger than fiction. Welcome back. In a series of essays, reflections, and remembrances Morrison’s new book examines the language’s capacity to uplift and destroy, how crucial resistance and political awareness is to progress, and storytellers’ potential to foster change. Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison explores whiteness and racism’s impact on the literary canon and the way its collective legacy has limited our nation’s sense of narrative and truth. Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race, The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House, The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy, Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, "Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Enter to win our favorite new reads, bookish goodies, and so much more. Error rating book. Every week we host a new literary giveaway! A thematically kindred follow up to the highly celebrated Swing Time, Smith’s latest is an immersive compilation of commentary on books, art, and film and heartfelt homages to icons like David Bowie and Prince. 'You Can't Touch my Hair: And Other Things I Still Have To Explain' by Phoebe Robinson. This memoir will stitch Lorde’s words into your soul. It is something to own.” In the pages that follow, Obama recounts her past with luminescent prose, revealing to readers the formative moments that transformed a little girl from Chicago into an activist and global icon. Denise Monique c. 1977- ), author of "Despite My Odds: A Memoir," published February 2020 In the preface to Michelle Obama’s bestselling memoir Becoming, the former First Lady of the United States writes, “Your story is what you have, what you will always have. A timely and life-altering read, this collection will change you for the better. Refresh and try again. We are experiencing an error, please try again. A 2015 winner of the National Book Award for non-fiction, the renowned journalist and writer pens a profound letter to his son about what it means to be Black in America in the 21st century—a place in which you struggle to overcome the historical trauma of your people while trying to find your own purpose in the world.