First published 2025
John Edgar Wideman brings together nearly fifty years of his journalism and essays in this debut collection. The acclaimed fiction writer and memoirist personally selected pieces that first appeared in Esquire, Vogue, and The New Yorker. Wideman examines iconic American figures including Zora Neale Hurston, Malcolm X, Spike Lee, Emmett Till, and Michael Jordan through his distinctive lens. His commentary spans from the Civil Rights Movement's aftermath through the Obama presidency and beyond. The New York Times recognized Wideman as a master of language, and these writings demonstrate his ability to weave personal experience with cultural analysis. The collection serves both as an introduction to Wideman's nonfiction voice and as a chronicle of America's social transformation across generations.
Genres: essays, american, african-american, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, journalism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-experience, weaving-personal-experience
Period: Civil Rights Movement, Obama Presidency
400 pages · Hardcover · Scribner