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megs_k's review against another edition
3.0
I believe there is power in words, power in asserting our existence, our experience, our lives, through words. ~ Jesmyn Ward
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
4.0
Each of the pieces in this book has a unique voice and perspective of issues currently affecting black people and our culture generally. There are tie ins to past writers and present artists, current events and historic events. Exposure to many writers I may not have found on my own, sharing their experiences in America today.
bess_hayles's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great, "easy" read because it was broken down into smaller essays. So I could read an essay, think about it for a couple of days and then go back and read another one.
knbee's review against another edition
4.0
I love Jesmyn Ward so when I saw a new book with her name on it, there was no question I would read it, and the fact that it examines race, well, all the better. As expected, this one did not disappoint either. She did a wonderful job of assembling a wide variety of essays- from a reexamination of Phyllis Wheatley to a dissection of Outkast lyrics. Highly recommended. Highly necessary.
jennog's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't read James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time yet (shameful I know) so I wasn't sure how much of this book I was going to really understand but I will say there were some stand out chapters/essays:
Part 1:
"Lonely in America" - forgotten slave burial sites in New Hampshire
"Where Do We Go From Here?" - eloquently stated prose on where we are in America today
Chapter on Phillis Wheatley - I learned so much about the first published African American female poet. I remember learning about her in first grade but never did I know about her husband and life before now.
"White Rage" - makes similar points to the Netflix movie "13th"
Part 2:
"Blacker Than You" - I appreciate it when Asian Americans get a shoutout and general pop culture references.
"Black and Blue" - walking (literally just walking) while black in different regions of the US from a first person perspective...just, wow.
I could go on but basically all the chapters in Part 2 really resonated with me.
Part 3:
Appropriately entitled "Jubilee", Part 3 encourages the reader to feel hopeful for the future to build a better world so that "your generation of brown and black men, women, and children will be the last who will experience all this."
Once I read The Fire Next Time, I'll probably give this a 5 star rating.
Part 1:
"Lonely in America" - forgotten slave burial sites in New Hampshire
"Where Do We Go From Here?" - eloquently stated prose on where we are in America today
Chapter on Phillis Wheatley - I learned so much about the first published African American female poet. I remember learning about her in first grade but never did I know about her husband and life before now.
"White Rage" - makes similar points to the Netflix movie "13th"
Part 2:
"Blacker Than You" - I appreciate it when Asian Americans get a shoutout and general pop culture references.
"Black and Blue" - walking (literally just walking) while black in different regions of the US from a first person perspective...just, wow.
I could go on but basically all the chapters in Part 2 really resonated with me.
Part 3:
Appropriately entitled "Jubilee", Part 3 encourages the reader to feel hopeful for the future to build a better world so that "your generation of brown and black men, women, and children will be the last who will experience all this."
Once I read The Fire Next Time, I'll probably give this a 5 star rating.
jrobles76's review against another edition
4.0
Published in 2016, but could easily have been written yesterday. Very sad that each essay you could update by just changing the names of those killed from Brown to Floyd, from Bland to Breona. Hopefully in 4 years this book will be more historical than relevant. Hope.
pattydsf's review against another edition
5.0
“Anti-black racism is in the culture. It’s in our laws, in our advertisements, in our friendships, in our segregated cities, in our schools, in our Congress, in our scientific experiments, in our language, on the Internet, in our bodies no matter our race, in our communities, and, perhaps most devastatingly, in our justice system.”
― Claudia Rankine, “The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning.”
I am not sure what I should be writing down here besides READ THIS BOOK. These essays made me sad, angry, frustrated. I also laughed, rejoiced, smiled and shook my head in amazement. Seventeen writers sat down and put their lives on the line so that readers might get an inkling of what those lives are like. I can only try to walk in these peoples’ shoes. I would have never known their pain or happiness unless they were willing to share. Thank G!d they are willing to do so and that they are so eloquent.
READ THIS BOOK! If you are a feeling, caring human being you will be glad you did.
― Claudia Rankine, “The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning.”
I am not sure what I should be writing down here besides READ THIS BOOK. These essays made me sad, angry, frustrated. I also laughed, rejoiced, smiled and shook my head in amazement. Seventeen writers sat down and put their lives on the line so that readers might get an inkling of what those lives are like. I can only try to walk in these peoples’ shoes. I would have never known their pain or happiness unless they were willing to share. Thank G!d they are willing to do so and that they are so eloquent.
READ THIS BOOK! If you are a feeling, caring human being you will be glad you did.