Cultural Literature

"Aisha Harris is one of our smartest, most entertaining modern cultural critics. The nine pieces offer insight on Stevie Wonder, the Spice Girls, Pen15, and New Girl--among many other pop artifacts, of course--which might as well be parlance for, 'Read...

A New Statesman 'most anticipated title of the year' 2022 'Compelling.' David Lammy MP A powerful intervention roundly debunking the myth of progress in racial equality -- particularly in the workplace -- and offering a blueprint for the future. Have...

A stirring, intimate reflection on the nature of race and American nationhood that has inspired generations of writers and thinkers, first published in 1963, the same year as the March on Washington "The finest essay I've ever read."--Ta-Nehisi Coates,...

A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural...

"You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people if you don't serve the people." The New York Times bestselling author of Race Matters and Democracy Matters offers provocative, open-hearted wisdom for our times. In a...

Abdi Nor Iftin first fell in love with America from afar. As a child, he learned English by listening to American pop and watching action films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. When U.S. marines landed in Mogadishu to take on the warlords, Abdi cheered...

Finalist for the 2023 Southern Book Prize A Black mother bumps up against the limits of everything she thought she believed--about science and medicine, about motherhood, and about her faith--in search of the truth about her son. One morning, Tophs,...

From an acclaimed playwright comes "an American masterpiece" (Newsweek) about the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Twilight is a stunning work of "documentary theater" that explores the devastating human impact of the five days of riots following the Rodney King...

"It is probably easier to be Christian in any other area of life than it is in the area of race. Here the practice of the Christian religion seems to break down most completely." These words of prophetic judgment ground Mays's attempt to set down...

The Rhodesian War of 1965-80 is the battle for control of present day Zimbabwe. The former British colony of Southern Rhodesia rejected British moves towards majority rule and on 11 November 1965 the Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith announced his...

This erudite collection of writings from leading lights in the African literary community pays tribute to Ama Ata Aidoo through a broad spectrum of articles and personal memoirs from scholars of different generations and from other literary artists. The...

On Foreign Ground, A True Story of a Wild Soul-charts a journey over time and world geography after the author, Ingeborg van Zanten Hayes born in the Netherlands, has a mental breakdown. Her search for personal and cultural identity to build a new...

A finalist for the 2015 National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award In How to Be Drawn, his daring fifth collection, Terrance Hayes explores how we see and are seen. While many of these poems bear the clearest imprint yet of Hayes's...

"Honey, if cookin' is a chore, then you ain't been doin' it right."--author and Lord Honey chef Jason Smith From Kentucky 'Nanners Foster Waffles to 'Lasses-Glazed Carrots to Sweet Tea and Bourbon Fried Chicken, celebrate the art of "Country Bling"...

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE 2020 TORONTO BOOK AWARDWINNER OF THE OLA EVERGREEN AWARDFINALIST FOR THE WRITERS' TRUST SHAUGNESSY COHEN PRIZEFINALIST FOR THE RAKUTEN KOBO EMERGING WRITER PRIZE *UPDATED with new foreword, postscript, and educator's...