Welcome to Litsy!

Hanif Abdurraqin is a genius. No doubt about it. The way he looks at American culture, especially Black culture is smart, lyrical, and honest. An important look at minstrels, black face, Beyonce's super bowl.
I love his writing, many lines and paragraphs stopped me in my tracks and had me rereading. I learned a lot and enjoyed all of it.

“I have wanted to die enough times in my life to understand the idea that wanting to die is not a foolish thing... I don't mean to prop up the idea of wanting an exit, but for me, not to imagine it as a foolish means that I am, by default, tasked with taking it seriously. I can't life as I once did, telling people that I was doing fine and desperately wanting them to wade through the language and see that I was in pain.”
― Hanif Abdurraqib,

“I‘ve run out of language to explain the avalanche of anguish I feel when faced with this world, and so if I can‘t make sense of this planet, I‘m better off imagining another.”

There are so many passages in this book that just stop me in my tracks.

Reflections on different historical & cultural movements in US history pertaining to the Black community (music, dancing, movies, comedians, magic). I enjoy learning more different perspectives & how to view history in a different & cultural lens. I took notes for areas to go back & reflect on & search out more areas to read up on. “A country is something that happens to you. History is a series of thefts or migrations or escapes. Along the way

ok so this is both a NEW GLASSES! update, and a “which book on my extremely messy TBR shelves should i read next” poll, plz advise

options:
LITTLE DEVIL IN AMERICA
ZOOEY IS TOO DRUNK FOR THIS DYSTOPIA
NEVER CROSS A HIGHLANDER
SOIL
DANCING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
ALL ABOUT LOVE
WE KEEP US SAFE

A truly brilliant collection of essays that I feel so grateful for having read.

(Image: deer under the willow in the backyard)

Poet and essayist Abdurraqib interweaves the contributions of major Black artists (Wu-Tang Clan, Aretha Franklin, Don Cornelius of Soul Train, Merry Clayton, FUPU, Joe Tex, Josephine Baker and a host of others) into the shaping of American entertainment, as well as his own upbringing and his own understanding of Black love, creativity, friendship, anger, and resilience. A little too much poetic sentimentality for me…more history!

The title might lead a reader to believe this is a tightly focused, academic look at Black performers. Not so. This is a very personal weaving of family, friends, music, and art. The reader will learn much but the reader will feel more.

Best of memoir & cultural commentary. Performance of code switching, blackface, magical negro, “beefing.” Also: joyous gauntlet of the Soul Train line, reckoning of Merry Clayton belting “murder” in “Gimme Shelter,” Beyoncé‘s immaculate crash of Coldplay‘s 2016 Super Bowl halftime. Even a quick list of these performances of intensity & excellence & Black joy would be a gift, but Abdurraqib‘s poetic descriptions bring out nuance & connection. 2021

As with most book of essays, I liked some essays more than others. Almost all of the essays were beautiful, poetic, interesting, relatable and smart all at the same time. Some essays though were genius.
#bookspinbingo

I flew through this and had to slow myself down to enjoy the writing. I‘m a big fan of Abdurraqib - and this book was just incredible. I don‘t know how to do it Justice in my words, except to tell you to read this. Twice.

First book finished in 2022 and it was incredible. The author has a fascinating way of weaving together history and culture, and then tying both into his own personal life. Nearly every essay found me researching online to find a performance, or a picture, or more information about a topic. The writing was strong and poetic and tender and alive. An absolutely fantastic read.

Better late than never - my January #Bookspin list. I'm very excited to jump back in!

@TheAromaofBooks

Coming up from under a bit of the blues. Helped by delivery of stack this Culture Day (national holiday in Japan.) Mystery, essays on Black performance and artistry, memoir, and popular music history!

Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist and cultural critic. This fascinating collection of interconnected essays (organised into 4 movements) reviews different types of Black performance in the arts and sport by incorporating commentary on specific performers from Beyoncé to Dave Chappelle and Mike Tyson together with examples from Abdurraqib‘s own life to contextualise Black performance within Black lived experience to moving effect.

Hands down some of the best essays I have read. I‘m already a sucker for essays that delve into societal analysis through pop culture but Abdurraqib blends pop culture, societal analysis, and the personal with beautiful and sharp sentences heightened by his poet background. I was brought to tears multiple times. And the unique ways he finds to wind through an essay are smart and compelling. Loved this one.

#WeekendReads
1.Just finished the tagged excellent,thought provoking book.Full review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4178647270
2.Peel me a lotus by Charmian Clift!
3.Three day weekend starts tomorrow!
@rachelsbrittain

Incredible.

This is SUCH spectacular, brilliant writing.

I don't always like memoirs, but when I do, I like memoirs that weave together a broad understanding of history and culture with the memoirist's personal experience of that history and culture. Abdurraqib is brilliant at this. This weaving combined with my interest in reading about how other Ohioans experience Ohio (and while there is overlap, Abdurraqib's experience is quite different from mine) made this book an excellent way to spend some time.

Hanif Abdurraqib is a writer who, fairly or not, has a reputation for melancholy. And there is melancholy in this book, but there is also so much joy and tenderness and the giving of deep, deep attention, which I‘ve always felt was the truest form of love.

Next

Abdurraqib‘s use of language has the power to change everything you ever thought you knew about expression. At times a history, other times closer to memoir, there are moments scattered throughout this book in which his vulnerability brought me to tears. Big tears. Big cry-in-the-shower tears. This is one of those books that will forever change a person.

Book mail! #gettbr

You know how people go drunk shopping online and end up ordering outlandish things? I made my first foray into drunk shopping and bought... a book. AM I DOING THIS RIGHT?

Insightful and educational view into Black performers in America. A cross between Isabel Wilkerson‘s “Caste” and “Heavy” by Kiese Laymon. Would give this all of the stars!! #arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️