Abdurraqib, Hanif

"While Hanif Abdurraqib is an acclaimed author, a gifted poet, and one of our culture's most insightful music critics, he is most of all, at heart, an Ohioan. Growing up in Columbus in the '90s, Abdurraqib witnessed a golden era of basketball, one in which legends like LeBron were forged, and countless others weren't. His lifelong love of the game leads Abdurraqib into a lyrical, historical, and emotionally rich exploration of what it means to make it, who we think deserves success, the tensions between excellence and expectation, and the very notion of role-models, all of which he expertly weaves together with memoir: "Here is where I would like to tell you about the form on my father's jumpshot," Abdurraqib writes. "The truth, though, is that I saw my father shoot a basketball only one time.""--Provided by publisher.

Curated by award-winning and best-selling poets, this wide-ranging poetry anthology represents twenty years of poetry from the students and alumni of Chicago's Oak Park River Forest High School Spoken Word Club.

A picture book biography of Aretha Franklin, discussing where her singing started and her role in civil rights.

Curated by award-winning and best-selling poets, this wide-ranging poetry anthology represents twenty years of poetry from the students and alumni of Chicago's Oak Park River Forest High School Spoken Word Club.

"[This book] is a . . . project that unravels all modes and methods of black performance, in this moment when black performers are coming to terms with their value, reception, and immense impact on America. [The author] examines how black performance happens in specific moments in time and space--mid-century Paris, the moon, or a cramped living room in Columbus, Ohio. At the outset of this project, [he] became fascinated with clips of black minstrel entertainers like William Henry Lane, better known as Master Juba. Knowing there was something more complicated . . . in the history and legacy of minstrelsy, [he] uncovered questions and tensions that help to reveal how black performance pervades all areas of American society"--Provided by publisher.

"[This book] is a . . . project that unravels all modes and methods of black performance, in thismoment when black performers are coming to terms with their value, reception, and immense impact on America. [The author] examines how black performance happens in specific moments in time and space--midcentury Paris, the moon, or a cramped living room in Columbus, Ohio. At the outset of this project, [he] became fascinated with clips of black minstrel entertainers like William Henry Lane, better known as Master Juba. Knowing there was something more complicated . . . in the history and legacy of minstrelsy, [he] uncovered questions and tensions that help to reveal how black performance pervades all areas of American society"--Provided by publisher.