Ishmael Reed
A profile of Ishmael Reed, one of America’s greatest living satirists. I visited him in Oakland, where we discussed the co-optation of “multiculturalism” and the boom-and-bust cycles of black literature in American publishing. (“I Ain’t Been Mean Enough,” The New Yorker)Ishmael Reed
Clint Smith’s “How the World is Passed”
A review of his book on the contemporary commemoration of slavery. (The New York Times Book Review)Clint Smith’s “How the World is Passed”
“Reconstructions” at MOMA
Review of an exhibition on architecture and imagining black futures. (Art in America)“Reconstructions” at MOMA
Octavia Butler
A review-essay on the occasion of the science fiction legend’s first Library of America volume. (“Stranger Communities,” The New Yorker)Octavia Butler
El Anatsui
A profile of the artist famous for his enormous, tapestry-like bottlecap sculptures. (Structure and Flow,” The New Yorker)El Anatsui
An Interview with Scholatique Mukasonga
A conversation with the Rwandan writer on the occasion of the film adaptation of her novel “Our Lady of the Nile.” (The White Review)An Interview with Scholatique Mukasonga
Hervé Guibert
A review-essay on Hervé Guibert. (“Death Sentences,” The New Yorker)Hervé Guibert