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Notes from No Man's Land
Notes from No Man's Land: American Essays | Eula Biss
6 posts | 9 read | 10 to read
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for CriticismWinner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction PrizeA frank and fascinating exploration of race and racial identityNotes from No Man's Land: American Essays begins with a series of lynchings and ends with a series of apologies. Eula Biss explores race in America and her response to the topic is informed by the experiences chronicled in these essays -- teaching in a Harlem school on the morning of 9/11, reporting for an African American newspaper in San Diego, watching the aftermath of Katrina from a college town in Iowa, and settling in Chicago's most diverse neighborhood. As Biss moves across the country from New York to California to the Midwest, her essays move across time from biblical Babylon to the freedman's schools of Reconstruction to a Jim Crow mining town to post-war white flight. She brings an eclectic education to the page, drawing variously on the Eagles, Laura Ingalls Wilder, James Baldwin, Alexander Graham Bell, Joan Didion, religious pamphlets, and reality television shows.These spare, sometimes lyric essays explore the legacy of race in America, artfully revealing in intimate detail how families, schools, and neighborhoods participate in preserving racial privilege. Faced with a disturbing past and an unsettling present, Biss still remains hopeful about the possibilities of American diversity, "not the sun-shininess of it, or the quota-making politics of it, but the real complexity of it."
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Ravenpuff

“Success and failure are silly terms in which to speak of living a life.”-Eula Biss
So true! Especially as a writer.
#creativenonfiction #nonfiction

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Ravenpuff
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I received this book as a graduation gift from one of my favorite professors at my University. It is a collection of creative nonfiction essays where Eula Biss discusses her experience of race in America. Can‘t wait to read it. #nonfiction #creativenonfiction #essays #UofA

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sirius.books
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Pickpick

I gave Notes from No Man's Land by Eula Biss five (5) stars out of five (5). I found her approach towards racial issues in America unique due to her diverse background. These essays address issues that are still relevant in today's society. I completely devoured this book and I highly recommend it.

Up next is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I thought the story would be longer due to the size of my library book but turns out another story was included.

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AliReads
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Notafraidofwords Sigh 😔 8y
8 likes1 comment
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blatheringbroad
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Pickpick

this book is incredible. with every essay i completed, i was in awe. the way eula biss weaves statistics and facts with her personal narrative is something i envy. whenever she brought up didion, i lost my mind. for one amazing writer to recognize the influence of the other on her work is incredible

Donna_sBookMinute This is jumping to the top of my TBR. I love finding obscure titles. This one also seems to be relevant. 8y
blatheringbroad @Donna's Book Minute super relevant and heart breaking. excellent writing. 8y
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