No one-absolutely no one-I've read is writing better than Jerald Walker about race, being black, and the depths and complexities of our humanity." - Charles Johnson, author of Middle Passage, winner of the National Book Award All I can say is, 'Wow.' And you can't just consume one you'll find yourself gobbling down every essay here and hungering for more. I laughed out loud, nodded at Jerald Walker's delivery of so much truth, and just shook my head at how gracefully he achieves so much so quickly in every piece in How to Make a Slave. This is hypnosis, a spell of enchantment cast over the reader by a masterful writer whose crystal-clear vision is not only original but revelatory. "Powerful.Crafted with honesty and wry comedic flair, these essays are both engaging and enraging." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) " stylish and thought-provoking collection of reflections.Walker's rich compilation adds up to a rewardingly insightful self-portrait that reveals how one man relates to various aspects of his identity." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) Longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award in Nonfiction.
Walker refuses to lull his readers instead his missives urge them to do better as they consider, through his eyes, how to be a good citizen, how to be a good father, how to live, and how to love. The result is a bracing and often humorous examination by one of America's most acclaimed essayists of what it is to grow, parent, write, and exist as a black American male.
Whether confronting the medical profession's racial biases, considering the complicated legacy of Michael Jackson, paying homage to his writing mentor James Alan McPherson, or attempting to break free of personal and societal stereotypes, Walker elegantly blends personal revelation and cultural critique. It is on the knife's edge between fury and farce that the essays in this exquisite collection balance. For the black community, Jerald Walker asserts in How to Make a Slave, "anger is often a prelude to a joke, as there is broad understanding that the triumph over this destructive emotion lay in finding its punchline."
0 kommentar(er)
