“What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?” So begins Black Futures, a new anthology from Ki
Feb 22, 2021 • View in browser
Books
“What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?” So begins Black Futures, a new anthology from Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham. Daniella Brito calls it an urgent text that “amuses, soothes, and heals” amid our tumultuous times.
In other big book-related news, Printed Matter’s annual Art Book Fair returns this week. Debuting virtually, the fair looks poised to offer all the wondrous wares and programming we’ve come to expect from it — without the long lines and busy crowds with which we’ve long had to make our peace.
Happy reading.
—Dessane Lopez Cassell, Editor, Reviews
Black Futures, an Anthology Brimming With Life and Radical Imagination
Black Futures, an Anthology Brimming With Life and Radical Imagination
The new book by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham considers an urgent question: “What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?”
Daniella Brito
Happening This Week
Printed Matter’s Art Book Fair Is Back, Sans the Long Lines
Printed Matter’s Art Book Fair Is Back, Sans the Long Lines
With its first-ever virtual edition, the fan favorite offers a robust slate of exhibitors, performances, and a conference on contemporary artists’ books.
Dessane Lopez Cassell
What We're Reading
An Illustrated Children’s Book on the Pandemic and Our Environmental Future
An Illustrated Children’s Book on the Pandemic and Our Environmental Future
Tom and Bee Rivett-Carnac’s “What Happened When We All Stopped,” which urges us to choose our environmental decisions wisely, came to life in an animation narrated by Jane Goodall.
Rohini Kejriwal
The Modernist Poet Who Took on Colonialism
The Modernist Poet Who Took on Colonialism
Since Aimé Césaire’s death in 2008 at the age of 94, as democracies devolve into autocracies, his Discourse on Colonialism remains prescient about the barbarity that informs civilization.
Tim Keane
Don Mee Choi’s Language of History
Don Mee Choi’s Language of History
Just as collage artists might paste a scrap of newsprint or a piece of rattan chair-bottom to their canvas, documentary poets form their poetic work from public records, firsthand accounts, and newspaper reports.
Mark Scroggins
The Story of Women Artists in Revolution, a Movement Against Patriarchy
The Story of Women Artists in Revolution, a Movement Against Patriarchy
W.A.R. existed for a brief yet prolific period, from 1969 to 1971, igniting a robust movement against New York City’s art industry.
Kate Silzer
In Case You Missed It
Ishmael Reed Picks Hamilton Apart, Bit by Revisionist Bit
Ishmael Reed Picks Hamilton Apart, Bit by Revisionist Bit
The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda deconstructs the Broadway play’s abolitionist portrayal of the founding father with incisive, impeccably-researched satire.
Erica Cardwell
In a New Book About Unions and Financial Capitalism, Lessons for the Arts
In a New Book About Unions and Financial Capitalism, Lessons for the Arts
“Unions Renewed” explores the changing role of organized labor under financial capitalism. It maps meaningfully onto the arts.
Sam Lefebvre
From the Store
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Cat
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Cat
From Mary Catsatt to Meow Weiwei, portraits of over 20 influential artists reimagined as felines are accompanied by clever biographies revealing the lives (all nine) behind their work. 
If Nia Gould’s book has you craving more cat-tastic puns, you’ll love her enamel pins of cats as artists!
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