When Innocent Black People Die, I Mourn The Life, The Potential, And The Art

When I first encountered the work of Henry Dumas, I was very nearly finished with my undergraduate degree in English. I favored American literature in my time studying, and was lucky to have access to syllabi that spanned a more diverse array of writers. The Black writers I would come to know intimately were who […] The post When Innocent Black People Die, I Mourn The Life, The Potential, And The Art appeared first on Electric Literature. Continue reading at 'Electric Literature'

[ Electric Literature | 2023-10-13 11:15:00 UTC ]

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Stories Happen in the Space Between How We Feel and What We Say

Short stories are a complex form, one that author and professor Danielle Evans continues to show herself adept in. The ever-shifting opportunities of short fiction are evident in Evans’s work, from her debut collection Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self to her latest, The Office of... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-20 12:00:00 UTC ]
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“Hillbilly Elegy” Is the Last Thing America Needs in 2020

My first novel was released within six months of Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance’s memoir of Appalachian roots and a youth spent in a Rust Belt community with a dearth of jobs and resources. Vance’s book came out just before the 2016 election; mine was released just after. Donald Trump’s victory had... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-17 12:01:45 UTC ]
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FutureBook: Abbey calls for industry to expand what it considers 'normal'

The industry needs to expand what it considers "normal", breaking a current way of thinking which considers black authors niche and prevents books representing society, Black Writers' Guild co-founder Nels Abbey has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

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7 Literary Translators You Need to Know

Imagine bookstores, libraries and life really, without Anne Frank, The Little Prince, the Quran, and Murakami. This is what a world without literary translators would look like—our literary travels would be devoid of global textures and much, much less rich. Through the work of translators,... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
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What Do We Owe Our Comunity in a Time of Crisis?

In her first novel published in 14 years, author Julia Alvarez explores grief, isolation, and sisterhood. Afterlife follows Antonia, a writer and retiring English professor, who has just lost her husband Sam. As she reimagines what her life will be without her husband, Antonia also struggles... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-02 12:00:33 UTC ]
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20 Small Press Books from 2020 You Might Have Missed

There’s no denying that this is a rough—if not catastrophic—year for many businesses, from mom-and-pop-run local eateries to huge corporations like Macy’s. But as the Washington Post noted, a national array of bookstores and readerly good-will has helped Bookshop.org raise millions for indie... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-10-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Where Is Hong Kong Literature When We Need It Most?

One of my most vivid childhood memories took place in an English bookshop in Causeway Bay, a short minibus ride from my family home in Hong Kong. I was a voracious reader growing up, eyes constantly trained on any printed text available, even during dinnertime and when brushing my teeth. Intent... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-10-22 11:00:06 UTC ]
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A Definitive Ranking of Tana French Novels

In the thirteen years since Tana French published her first novel, she’s gained a rabid and dedicated readership (a friend of mine refers to herself as a Tanavangelist), a shelf’s worth of awards (Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Barry, and the Irish Book Award, among others), and countless places on... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-10-15 11:00:19 UTC ]
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Religion Book Deals: October 14, 2020

Joni Eareckson Tada brings a children’s book about heaven to the Good Book Company, an introduction to African American literature lands at IVP, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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How Much Does Your Job Shape Your Identity?

“You think you’ve known someone for a long time,” a character in one of Jenny Bhatt’s short stories says of her Indian colleague shortly after he’s shot dead by a white man in a bar. “Maybe he never really took to us. Never really became one of us.” Turn by turn, each of his white […] The post... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-10-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Are Frats and Sororities Really Just Cults?

What lengths will we go to in order to belong? To be part of something exclusive? To be part of a sisterhood or brotherhood? That’s the searing question that authors Benjamin Nugent and Genevieve Sly Crane try to answer in their books about college Greek life. Nugent’s Fraternity, a collection... Continue reading at Electric Literature

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A Memoir About Growing Up Undocumented in America

In his memoir Children of the Land, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo tells the story of growing up undocumented in California and having to navigate the convoluted and dehumanizing American immigration system. Hernandez Castillo captures the emotional and psychological toll that being both invisible... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-10-01 11:00:54 UTC ]
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7 Translated Books About Queer Life in Taiwan and China

Before writing my debut novel Bestiary, I began a year-long process of translating letters written by my grandmother, many of which were addressed to people I didn’t know. While attempting these translations, I realized the impossibilities and possibilities of the task—the losses and gaps and... Continue reading at Electric Literature

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Festival Five with NSK Juror Adib Khorram, by The Editors of WLT

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Tell Us Your Favorite Fall Food and We’ll Tell You What National Book Award Nominee to Read

Autumn means changing leaves, apple-based baked goods, decorative gourds, pumpkin spice lattes—and an avalanche of literary award longlists. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the must-read National Book Award nominees you’re now realizing you didn’t read, why not base your TBR pile off of... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-09-25 11:00:06 UTC ]
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Why Aren’t There More Books About Asexuals?

Science journalist and debut author Angela Chen remembers the first time she saw the word “asexuality”—online, on the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN). I don’t remember the first time I saw the word, though I know I first used it in the negative—as in, I may have “weird” views on... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-09-21 11:00:38 UTC ]
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By Telling New Stories, We Build a New Future

In order to fit more texts into my Asian American literature course, I sometimes assign the play adaptation of Jessica Hagedorn’s novel Dogeaters. The novel is canonized within Asian American literature and features an imagined version of the Philippines made from film and radio tropes, found... Continue reading at Electric Literature

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A Scientist Tries to Understand Her Family Problems Through Mice

Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel Homegoing told the story of two branches of a Ghanaian family, one descended from a woman who marries a white slave trader and whose line stays in Ghana, another descended from her half-sister who is captured and sent to America in bondage. Gyasi’s second novel... Continue reading at Electric Literature

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Numerous Poetic Facts About Swine

Pigs They are born in a flood of magma. They claw their way to the center of the earth. They don’t know what a blouse is, and they don’t care. There are seventeen constellations named for their kin. They coordinate all the Monday briefings. When they read the wrong books, they return them to... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-31 11:00:00 UTC ]
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“Breasts and Eggs” Grapples with the Weird Mess of Women’s Bodies

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