Magically Black and Other Essays [Paperback]

*** Finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay****
****Semi-Finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor****
****Finalist for the New England Book Award****
****Longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award****

In this engaging follow up toHow to Make a Slave and Other Essays, the recipient of PEN New England Award for nonfiction and finalist for the National Book Award sharply examines and explains Black life and culture with equal parts candor and humor.

In Magically Black and Other EssaysJerald Walker elegantly blends personal revelation and cultural critique to create a bracing and often humorous examination of Black American life. He thoughtfully addresses the inherent complexities of topics as eclectic as incarceration, home renovations, gentrification, the crip walk, pimping, and the rise of the MAGA movement, approaching them through various Black perspectives, including husband, father, teacher, and writer. The collection’s overarching theme is captured in the titular essay, which examines the culture of heroic action African Americans created in response to their enslavement and oppression, giving proof to Albert Murray’s observation that the “fire in the forging process . . . for all its violence, does not destroy the metal that becomes the sword.”

As the zestful exploration of how Black identities are shaped, including by conflicts between the compromised and authentic self—Magically Black is brilliantly alive to the dynamic interactions of the personal and the political. That’s part of the riveting and multidimensional magic act performed by one of our most gifted essayists.”

“Jerald Walker’s compilation of short essays is a Black Survival Kit. From teaching to taking care of his lawn, Wlӹ