A Little Devil in America

Author Hanif Abdurraqib
Narrator JD Jackson
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Publish Date 30 March 2021
Run Time 9 hours and 39 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Biography and non-fiction prose, Biography: arts and entertainment, Ethnic groups and multicultural studies, History, Music, Popular culture, Popular music, Social and cultural history, Society and Social Sciences, The Arts, Theatre studies.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

An electrifying celebration of Black performances, cultures and communities in the United States, from the New York Times bestselling poet and critic Hanif Abdurraqib

At the March on Washington, Josephine Baker reflected on her life and her legacy. She had spent decades as one of the most successful entertainers in the world, but, she told the crowd, "I was a devil in other countries, and I was a little devil in America, too". Inspired by these words, Hanif Abdurraqib has written a stirring meditation on Black performance in the modern age, in which culture, history and his own lived experience collide.

With sharp insight, humour and heart, Abdurraqib explores a sequence of iconic and intimate performances that take him from mid-century Paris to the moon -- and back down again, to a cramped living room in Columbus, Ohio. Each one, he shows, has layers of resonance across Black and white cultures, the politics of American empire, and his own personal history of love and grief -- whether it's the twenty-seven seconds of 'Gimme Shelter' in which Merry Clayton sings, or the magnificent hours of Aretha Franklin's homegoing; Beyoncé's Super Bowl show or a schoolyard fistfight; Dave Chapelle's skits or a game of spades among friends.

'Gorgeous' - Brit Bennett
'Pure genius' - Jacqueline Woodson
'One of the most dynamic books I have ever read' - Clint Smith

© Hanif Abdurraqib 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Critics Review

Hanif Abdurraqib’s genius is in pinpointing those moments in American cultural history when Black people made lightning strike. But Black performance, Black artistry, Black freedom too often came at devastating price. The real devil in America is America itself, the one who stole the soul that he, through open eyes and fearless prose, snatches back. This is searing, revelatory, filled with utter heartbreak, and unstoppable joy.

Marlon James, author of Black Leopard Red Wolf

A rapturous exploration of black genius. Whether heralding unsung entertainers or re-examining legends, Hanif Abdurraqib weaves together gorgeous essays that reveal the resilience, heartbreak, and joy within black performance. I read this book breathlessly.

author of The Vanishing Half

To read Hanif Abdurraqib is to be embraced in the middle of chaos. In his latest book, A Little Devil In America: In Praise of Black Performance, he does what many great writers do, which is to illuminate and join the dots between connections readers may once have failed to see.

Huck

Abdurraqib is one of the most brilliant writers I’ve ever read. A Little Devil In America needs to be on every bedside table, every high school and college desktop – and basically, in this age of a revolution, this is that ONE book that everyone needs to read. Pure genius. I’m not even trying to get at even SOME of the brilliance Hanif gets to with this book-there is just too much. From Black Exceptionalism to Josephine Baker to Old Heads-he brings it and clarifies it, then shapes it into every bit of medicine we need right now.

author of Red at the Bone

Poignant, powerful, candid, written with sincerity and emotion … An important book

New York Times

The most important cultural critic in America right now? This writer gets my vote. Abdurraqib has delivered a winner.

Chicago Tribune

Hanif Abdurraqib has a way of taking slices of our cultural landscape, examining them, and transforming them into observations and analyses that leave me underlining the entire page. In A Little Devil In America, Abdurraqib brilliantly braids together history, criticism, and prose so stunning that it makes you want to read every word out loud just so you can hear its music. Everything Abdurraqib writes is a must-read, but this is his best yet. It is one of the most dynamic books I have ever read.

Clint Smith

Blending pop-culture essays, memoir, and poetry, A Little Devil in America delves into the manyiterations of Black artistic expression through an often deeply personal lens …Startling, layered, and timely, this is an essential, illuminating collection

Booklist (starred review)

A thoughtful memoir rolled into a set of joined essays on life, death, and the Black experience in America… Social criticism, pop culture, and autobiography come together neatly in these pages, and every sentence is sharp, provocative, and self-aware … A winner.

Kirkus Reviews (*starred review*)

A Little Devil in America is so so heavy in some places that I have to take breaks. It just hurts to read some of these truths, woven in such beautiful writing.

Yomi Sode

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