Citizen. Una lirica americana

Do you remember that incident early in the primary campaign in 2016 when a young black woman staged a silent protest by reading a book during a Trump rally? Well, this is the book, and I think you should read it too. It covers some of the same ground as Coates' Between the World and Me , but Rankine Leggi tutto

This book is necessary and timely. It was timely fifty years ago. I pray it is not timely fifty years from now. Rankine takes on the realities of race in America with elegance but also rage/resignation... maybe we call it rageignation. Outstanding book.

** Update (4/6/16)** Tonight I had the privilege to attend a reading and discussion with Claudia Rankine here in Holland. It was a real treat. Especially powerful was seeing the visual elements of her book brought to life on the screen, with the video (made by her husband John Lucas), the music all m Leggi tutto

Look at the cover. A hoodie. The iconic image of American fear. Urban danger. Gang-bangers. A seventeen-year-old boy in Miami Gardens, FL. The shooting death of an unarmed black man The shooting death of an unarmed black man The shooting death of an unarmed black man Let Me Google That For You Trayvon Leggi tutto

Claudia Rankine is an absolute master of the written word. Her gripping accounts of racism, through prose and poetry, moved me deeply. I saw the world through her eyes, a profound experience. I loved this small piece of prose, "feeling most colored when thrown against a sharp white background." As a Leggi tutto

A piercing and perceptive book of poetry about being black in America. With rightful anger and sadness Claudia Rankine details the racism she has experienced in the United States, as well as the racism that surrounds popular black people in the media like Serena Williams, Barack Obama, and Trayvon M Leggi tutto

Listened as part of the Diverse Spines Reading Challenge. It’s a quick listen at 1.5 hours. Short on words, but every one counts and rings with purpose. I highly recommend the audio version.