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A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance Audiobook
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NATIONAL 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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“Uses the tales of Black performers to make powerful observations about race in America, gliding through music, television, film, minstrel shows, and vaudeville.”
— New York Times
Quotes
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“This book is not a work of theory. It is sensual.”
— Vulture -
“Jackson's narration gives it that extra something that will keep listeners listening. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile -
“Filled with nuance and lyricism, Abdurraqib’s luminous survey is stunning.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Examines the feeling of invisibility that haunts so many Black Americans.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“Social criticism, pop culture, and autobiography come together…and every sentence is sharp, provocative, and self-aware.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“Weaves together gorgeous essays that reveal the resilience, heartbreak, and joy within Black performance. I read this book breathlessly.”
— Brit Bennett, New York Times bestselling author
Awards
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A #1 Amazon bestseller
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Shortlisted for the National Book Award
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Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
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Winner of the Gordon Burn Prize
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A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2021
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
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Longlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay
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A Top 10 Chicago Tribune Book of the Year
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A Philadelphia Inquirer Top 10 Book of 2021
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A Dallas Morning News Pick of the Year's Top 10 Books
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A Time Magazine Best Book of the Year
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A Boston Globe Book of the Year
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A Rolling Stone magazine pick of Best Books of 2021
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An Esquire Magazine Best Book of the Year
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A Buzzfeed Best Books of the Year Pick
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About Hanif Abdurraqib
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, cultural critic, and author, whose books include A Little Devil in America, winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Gordon Burns Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award. His first collection of essays, They Can’t Kill Us until They Kill Us, was named one of the books of the year by NPR, Esquire, BuzzFeed, O: The Oprah Magazine, Pitchfork, and Chicago Tribune, among others. Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Kirkus Prize, and the National Book Award.
About JD Jackson
JD Jackson is a theater professor, aspiring stage director, and award-winning audiobook narrator. He is a classically trained actor, and his television and film credits include roles on House, ER, Law & Order, Hack, Sherrybaby, Diary of a City Priest, and Lucky Number Slevin. He is the recipient of more than a dozen Earphones Awards for narration and an Odyssey Honor for G. Neri’s Ghetto Cowboy, and he was also named one of AudioFile magazine’s Best Voices of the Year for 2012 and 2013. An adjunct professor at Los Angeles Southwest College, he has an MFA in theater from Temple University.