A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black PerformanceNATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • A sweeping, genre-bending “masterpiece” (Minneapolis Star Tribune) exploring Black art, music, and culture in all their glory and complexity—from Soul Train, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Whitney Houston, and Beyoncé ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Dallas Morning News, Publishers Weekly “Gorgeous essays that reveal the resilience, heartbreak, and joy within Black performance.”—Brit Bennett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Half “I was a devil in other countries, and I was a little devil in America, too.” Inspired by these few words, spoken by Josephine Baker at the 1963 March on Washington, MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow and bestselling author Hanif Abdurraqib has written a profound and lasting reflection on how Black performance is inextricably woven into the fabric of American culture. Each moment in every performance he examines—whether it’s the twenty-seven seconds in “Gimme Shelter” in which Merry Clayton wails the words “rape, murder,” a schoolyard fistfight, a dance marathon, or the instant in a game of spades right after the cards are dealt—has layers of resonance in Black and white cultures, the politics of American empire, and Abdurraqib’s own personal history of love, grief, and performance. Touching on Michael Jackson, Patti LaBelle, Billy Dee Williams, the Wu-Tan Clan, Dave Chappelle, and more, Abdurraqib writes prose brimming with jubilation and pain. With care and generosity, he explains the poignancy of performances big and small, each one feeling intensely familiar and vital, both timeless and desperately urgent. Filled with sharp insight, humor, and heart, A Little Devil in America exalts the Black performance that unfolds in specific moments in time and space—from midcentury Paris to the moon, and back down again to a cramped living room in Columbus, Ohio. WINNER OF THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL AND THE GORDON BURN PRIZE • FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD AND THE PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, Time, The Boston Globe, NPR, Rolling Stone, Esquire, BuzzFeed, Thrillist, She Reads, BookRiot, BookPage, Electric Lit, The Rumpus, LitHub, Library Journal, Booklist |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - Narshkite - LibraryThingI received this book free in a Goodreads Giveway. As always, this did not impact my review. i can be bought, but it costs way more than a book, even a high quality hardcover. I love Hanif Abdurraqib's ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - muddyboy - LibraryThingA really thought provoking book,mostly history, but much about the author's autobiographical story. The historical aspect is about Black performers and artists over the years who have had an impact on ... Read full review
Contents
3 | |
On Going Home as Performance | 23 |
An Epilogue for Aretha | 36 |
On Times I Have Forced Myself to Dance | 47 |
Sixteen Ways of Looking at Blackface | 68 |
On the Certain and Uncertain Movement of Limbs | 89 |
Nine Considerations of Black People in Space | 112 |
My Favorite Thing About Don Shirley | 176 |
Beyoncé Performs at the Super Bowl and I Think About | 205 |
MOVEMENT | 219 |
A Crown | 238 |
On the Performance of Softness | 250 |
Board Up the Doors Tear Down the Walls | 264 |
MOVEMENT | 279 |
Acknowledgments | 285 |
Would Like to Give Merry Clayton Her Roses | 191 |
Other editions - View all
A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance Hanif Abdurraqib Limited preview - 2021 |
A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performances Hanif Abdurraqib No preview available - 2022 |
Common terms and phrases
album American appear arms asked attempt audience awards Baker became become better Black body Book Brown called cards carry close coming course dance dancers dark didn't don't early eyes face feel felt fight final floor friends give ground hands head hold Houston idea imagine joke keep kind knew land laugh least living look magic means mother move movie never night once performance person play pulled record remember seemed seen shouting singing someone sometimes song Soul space stage star stop story sure talk tell thing told took Train trick trying turn understand violence walk watching wearing Whitney woman young