A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black PerformanceA stirring meditation on Black performance in America from the New York Times bestselling author of Go Ahead in the Rain “Whether heralding unsung entertainers or reexamining legends, Hanif Abdurraqib weaves together gorgeous essays that reveal the resilience, heartbreak, and joy within Black performance. I read this book breathlessly.”—Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half At the March on Washington in 1963, Josephine Baker was fifty-seven years old, well beyond her most prolific days. But in her speech she was in a mood to consider her life, her legacy, her departure from the country she was now triumphantly returning to. “I was a devil in other countries, and I was a little devil in America, too,” she told the crowd. Inspired by these few words, 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. Abdurraqib writes prose brimming with jubilation and pain, infused with the lyricism and rhythm of the musicians he loves. 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. |
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User Review - mpho3 - LibraryThingEssay collections, like their short story brethren, are often a mixed bag, and that is true here. Far and away the piece that has stuck with me most is the one about Ben Vereen. I do not use this ... Read full review
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User Review - Unreachableshelf - LibraryThingImpressive in its analysis and range, but sometimes a bit meandering. (The chapter on playing spades, although it could certainly be said there's a performative aspect to cards, spends almost no time on this aspect of the game.) 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: In Praise of Black Performance Hanif Abdurraqib No preview available - 2021 |
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 entire 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
Bibliographic information
| Title | A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance |
| Author | Hanif Abdurraqib |
| Publisher | Random House Publishing Group, 2021 |
| ISBN | 198480121X, 9781984801210 |
| Length | 320 pages |
| Subjects | › › › History / United States / General Music / Philosophy & Social Aspects Social Science / Ethnic Studies / American / African American & Black Studies |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |