Julian Lucas
I am a staff writer at The New Yorker, where I cover art, books, digital culture, and the politics of history—particularly, the history of the African diaspora. I’m also working on a book about computers and mortality called “Death Drive.” You can reach me at julian [underscore] lucas [at] newyorker [dot] com or through my agent, Frances Coady. Photo by Richard Renaldi.
A selection of my work is below. You can find the rest here, and also browse by genre (criticism, profile, essay), subject (art, books, tech, history), and publication (The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Cabinet).
Slave Ship Wrecks
A feature on the Slave Wrecks Project, whose marine archaeologists work with communities across the African diaspora. I dove with them to the wreck of the Camargo, Brazil’s last known slave ship. (“The Sunken Place,” The New Yorker)Slave Ship Wrecks
Samuel R. Delany
A profile of the polymathic science fiction writer, memoirist, essayist, and theoretician of sex and queer identity. I visited him in Philadelphia and drove him to a steamy reunion with an old flame in upstate New York. (“Galaxy Brain,” The New Yorker)Samuel R. Delany
Video Games at the Museum
A review-essay on art museums’ efforts to exhibit video games, as well as digital efforts to curate the best of the medium. (The New Yorker)Video Games at the Museum
Kehinde Wiley
A profile of the painter Kehinde Wiley, Barack Obama’s portraitist, who paints ordinary black people in the style of the Old Masters. I visited him in Brussels, where he was street-casting, at his studio in Williamsburg, and in Dakar, Senegal, at his luxorious Black Rock residency. (“The Painter and His Court,” The New Yorker)Kehinde Wiley
Underground Railroad Reenactments
A feature on reenactments of the Underground Railroad and their unusual history, including how they inspired one of the first computer games about slavery. (The New Yorker)Underground Railroad Reenactments
Dying Forever in a Text-Based Game
An essay on playing ArmageddonMUD, an online text-based roleplaying game where there are no resurrections. (Cabinet)Dying Forever in a Text-Based Game
Derek Walcott and Peter Doig
An essay on the poet Derek Walcott and his collaboration with the artist Peter Doig on “Morning, Paramin,” which explores the history and landscape of the Caribbean. (The New York Review of Books)Derek Walcott and Peter Doig