11 days until Christmas and today I thought I’d share two books from Hanif Willis-Abdurraquib that I’ve been really wanting to read. I was first introduced to his work when I read his essay “On College” in an Advanced Writing class. Something about his work hit me, and I have ever sense really wanted to read more of his work. Thus, here are two of his books that I’ve heard are really good. The first is “A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance.” I love Black art, even if I don’t come from a place where I can fully grasp it on my first read or watch or listen, but it is deep and complex and I want to learn more. I read the works of Chinua Achebe and George Lamming and August Wilson and listen to black poets read their poetry aloud, both for enjoyment and to understand a bit better. And this takes me to a field that I’ve known for a long time and yet don’t always think about critically: performance. Music and comedy. The things I loved so much growing up. To have a deeper, richer understanding of that would be wonderful. The second is a collection of personal essays: “They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us.” They just released an anniversary edition, I understand, and I’d love to have that on my shelf. His personal essay on how fast people will turn to stereotypes when it suits them, even when they’ve made it clear in the past that they don’t see you as that stereotype, was gripping, and I want to read more of these wonderful essays. Anyway, I’ll share some more texts I want tomorrow. Have a good night, everyone. #theycantkillusuntiltheykillus #alittledevilinamerica #hanifabdurraqib #hanifwillisabdurraqib #oncollege #bookstagram #book #books #booklover #bookaddict #christmas #christmastime #merrychristmas #christmasgifts #christmascountdown #happyholidays #advancedwriting #advancedwritingskills #advancedwriters #advancedwriter #advancedwritingclass https://www.instagram.com/p/CmLOgeIMioz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
