New Books in Critical Theory Jennifer C. Nash, "How We Write Now: Living with Black Feminist Theory" (Duke UP, 2024)
Dec 25, 2024
Jennifer C. Nash, author of "How We Write Now: Living with Black Feminist Theory," explores the powerful role of writing in processing loss through the lens of Black feminism. She highlights how contemporary writers utilize vivid, intimate narratives to experience and articulate grief, particularly in relation to social movements. Nash discusses the ethical challenges of witnessing Black loss, the emotional depth of epistolary forms in activism, and the complexities of Black masculinity, inviting readers to embrace loss as both an aesthetic and transformative experience.
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Intro
00:00 • 2min
Exploring Loss in Black Feminist Writing
01:33 • 12min
Witnessing Black Loss: Ethics and Archiving
13:14 • 6min
The Intimacy of Epistolary Writing in Black Lives Matter
19:02 • 3min
Visual Narratives in Black Feminist Writing
22:31 • 7min
Exploring Tenderness in Black Masculinity
29:12 • 9min
Breathe
A Life in Flow
Jacko Willink
Rickson Gracie
In this riveting memoir, Rickson Gracie shares the full story of how his father and uncles developed Jiu-Jitsu, his experiences growing up among several generations of world-renowned fighters, and the principles and skills that guided him to his undefeated record.
The book offers insights into martial arts, human performance, and how the connection between mind and body can be harnessed for success both inside and outside the ring.
It also includes personal anecdotes, lessons on resilience and mindfulness, and reflections on life, death, and the search for meaning.
Light of the Mind, Light of the World
Spencer Klavan
This book tells a daring new story about how humanity got to its current state and how we can chart a better path forward.
It surveys the history of science and faith from the astronomers of Babylon to the quantum physicists of postwar Europe and America.
Klavan argues that science is leading us not away from God but back to him, and to the ancient faith that places the human soul at the center of the universe.
He shows how the latest developments in physics can help shatter the illusion of materialism and how the search for knowledge of the natural world can illuminate the glories of its Creator.
Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Between the World and Me is a personal and literary exploration of America's racial history.
Written as a series of letters to his 15-year-old son, Samori, Ta-Nehisi Coates reflects on his own experiences growing up in Baltimore, his education at Howard University, and his career as a journalist.
The book delves into the realities of being Black in America, including the historical and ongoing impacts of slavery, segregation, police brutality, and mass incarceration.
Coates shares personal anecdotes and historical insights to prepare his son for the challenges he will face as a Black man in America, while also offering a broader critique of American society and its treatment of Black bodies.
The book is a powerful and emotional exploration of identity, history, and the struggle for racial justice.
In the Wake
In the Wake
On Blackness and Being
Christina Sharpe
Christina Sharpe's "In the Wake" is a groundbreaking work in Black Studies that explores the ongoing effects of slavery and its legacy on Black life.
The book uses a unique interdisciplinary approach, blending theory, personal narrative, and critical analysis to examine the ways in which the past continues to shape the present.
Sharpe's writing style is both poetic and analytical, creating a powerful and moving exploration of trauma, resilience, and the ongoing struggle for Black liberation.
The book has had a significant impact on the field, influencing how scholars and activists approach the study of race and racism.
Its focus on the lingering effects of historical trauma has resonated deeply with readers and scholars alike.
Wayward Lives
Beautiful Experiments
Saidiya Hartman
Saidiya Hartman's "Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments" is a groundbreaking work that reimagines the lives of Black women in the early 20th century.
The book uses a unique combination of historical research, literary analysis, and visual imagery to create a powerful and moving portrait of Black female subjectivity.
Hartman's writing is both poetic and analytical, challenging traditional historical narratives and offering a new way of understanding the past.
The book's use of photographs and fragmented narratives creates a sense of intimacy and immediacy, allowing readers to connect with the lives of the women depicted.
"Wayward Lives" has been widely praised for its innovative approach to historical scholarship and its profound impact on the field of Black Studies.
Ordinary Notes
Ordinary Notes
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Christina Sharpe
How We Write Now
Living with Black Feminist Theory
Jennifer C. Nash
Jennifer C. Nash's "How We Write Now" explores how contemporary Black feminists utilize beautiful writing to grapple with loss.
The book examines quotidian, slow, or ongoing losses often overlooked, challenging dominant conceptions of Black loss.
Nash analyzes how Black feminist writing fosters proximity, tenderness, and beauty in the face of loss, offering not escape but a deeper engagement.
The work highlights the intimate voice as a tool for recording and processing loss, shifting from a social science approach to a more literary and poetic expression.
Ultimately, the book invites readers to confront their own experiences with loss and find solace and connection within the shared experience.
Memorial Drive
A Daughter's Memoir
Natasha Trethewey
In this memoir, Natasha Trethewey recounts the traumatic event of her mother's murder by her former stepfather in 1985.
The book delves into the author's experience of grief, loss, and the long-term effects of domestic violence.
Trethewey explores her mother's history in the deeply segregated South, her own girlhood as a 'child of miscegenation' in Mississippi, and how these experiences shaped her as a poet.
The memoir includes personal narratives, historical context, and actual court transcripts, providing a poignant and intimate look at the author's journey toward understanding and healing.
In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens
Womanist Prose
Alice Walker
This book is a collection of 36 essays that delve into the lives and creative expressions of Black women, highlighting their struggles and achievements in a society that often marginalized them.
Walker draws on her own experiences and those of her mother and grandmothers, as well as other notable Black women writers like Phillis Wheatley and Zora Neale Hurston.
The essays emphasize the importance of recognizing and honoring the artistic traditions and legacies of these women, who created masterpieces despite the hardships and limitations imposed upon them.
In How We Write Now: Living with Black Feminist Theory (Duke UP, 2024), Jennifer C. Nash examines how Black feminists use beautiful writing to allow writers and readers to stay close to the field’s central object and preoccupation: loss. She demonstrates how contemporary Black feminist writers and theorists such as Jesmyn Ward, Elizabeth Alexander, Christina Sharpe, and Natasha Trethewey mobilize their prose to ask readers to feel, undo, and reassemble themselves. These intimate invitations are more than a set of tools for decoding the social world; Black feminist prose becomes a mode of living and feeling, dreaming and being, and a distinctly affective project that treats loss as not only paradigmatic of Black life but also an aesthetic question. Through her own beautiful writing, Nash shows how Black feminism offers itself as a companion to readers to chart their own lives with and in loss, from devastating personal losses to organizing around the movement for Black lives. Charting her own losses, Nash reminds us that even as Black feminist writers get as close to loss as possible, it remains a slippery object that troubles memory and eludes capture.
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