The Autobiography of Malcolm X with Alex Haley
some thoughts on reading one of the 20th century’s most important books
Tag: racism
the heart of the matter by Graham Greene
1948 novel about a sad catholic with too many girlfriends
The Evidence of Things Not Seen by James Baldwin
it’s not Baldwin’s best, but it’s better than most books by everyone else!
POETRY MONTH: Produce Poetry Or Die. by Narada Voux Sanders
realising i read poetry looking for poets, not poems
Around the World in Seventy-Two Days and Other Writings by Nellie Bly
scott reads a collection of writing from a trailblazing lady gonzo journalist!
Sula by Toni Morrison
a beautiful novel about the emptiness at the heart of life
Passing by Nella Larsen (Norton Critical Edition)
a stunning harlem renaissance novel; scott muses on the hangover of growing up in a cultural desert
James Baldwin: Collected Essays (Library of America, 1998)
james baldwin is great; vaccines are also great
Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine
while we seek relief in schadenfreude over self-esteem, the world will never be fixed
Clotel or, the President’s Daughter by William Wells Brown
excellent, significant, 19th century anti-slavery novel
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
an excellent novel; in footnotes my concluding thoughts on the TV series The Affair
Zora Neale Hurston (and a state-mandated medical exam)
in which the canadian state tests me for TB & syphilis
As We Have Always Done by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
powerful academic text on the impossibility of decolonisation within capitalistic structures
Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
powerful stuff on racism, colonialism and botched governmental attempts to move on
Four Repeater Books (two I recommend)
two excellent books, two not excellent books
Winter in July by Doris Lessing
short stories about non-monogamous colonial types
Some Fragments of Incomplete Lockdown Blogs
Richard Wright in Franco’s Spain and other fragments
Blood on the Forge by William Attaway
phenomenal, wise, novel about the great migration and the manipulation of white working class resentment
the mirror and the light by hilary mantel
Written June 15th and actually it was this one, not Things Fall Apart that caused me to pause blogging, forContinue Reading
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
a blog post that fell apart so much i paused the blog for six weeks
The Pale King by David Foster Wallace
hide the dfw; notes on craft & posthumous novels
Cane by Jean Toomer
ok toomer
Two Lives by Janet Malcolm
great literary biography but not AS GREAT as other malcolm i’ve read
Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
great prose-verse novel about nunavut in the 70s
Obasan by Joy Kogawa
very “literary fiction” literary fiction about WW2 non-Nazi racism
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de las Casas
very early protest against colonialism
Native Son by Richard Wright
surprisingly good protest novel; thoughts on UK election result
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
great early[ish] essays from one of america’s best
The Mask That Sang by Susan Currie
impressive, purposeful, children’s fiction
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
I read another great, serious, time travel novel
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
a solid, if unambitious, novel from a major contemporary voice
Blues For Mister Charlie by James Baldwin
a sad play from JB the master
Witchcraft by Pennethorne Hughes
a delicious 1960s Pelican about the dark arts…
Three Lives by Gertrude Stein
you absolute Stein
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
acclaimed canadian steampunky slavery novel
Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
an absolute disgrace
Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
mediocre prose and a child bride: time to cancel Poe
Travels With Myself And Another by Martha Gellhorn
another racist travel book
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
impressive, emotive, historical
Mixed-Race Superman by Will Harris
glorious, wonderful, contemporary non-fiction
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
i can’t believe it’s so racist
Africa’s Tarnished Name by Chinua Achebe
a bit of African history and more white opinions on racism #facepalm #alwayspublish
Time and Again by Jack Finney
writing on time travel like
Remembering Oluwale: An Anthology edited by SJ Bradley
a powerful anthology of poetry and prose
Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
essential reading, especially if you’re a racist
The Africa In My House by Andrea Mbarushimana
A British woman considers the life of her Rwandan husband and his country.
The Fight by Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer writes energetically and racistly about boxing
On a Chinese Screen by W. Somerset Maugham
Very Colonial travel writing from author of The Painted Veil
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
because white men can’t / police their imagination / black men are dying
Triumph Of The Now 