Author Archives: tonipressleysanon

Review of Saidiya Hartman’s Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments

Posted on July 2, 2019

I have long been familiar with Dr. Saidiya Hartman’s brilliance; first through Scenes of Subjection: Terror, Slavery and Self-Making in Nineteenth Century America (1997) and then through Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Coast (2008). As a post-doc, I … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday Octavia Butler!

Posted on June 22, 2019

Happy birthday Octavia Butler!! The genius writer Octavia Butler would have been 72 years today! An interview with Ms. Butler on “Transcending Boundaries” An NPR interview with Ms. Butler and an essay by her. She was the recipient of several … Continue reading →

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Wondering: Has Peele read Butler?

Posted on May 14, 2019

Let me state up front, just so we’re clear, I loooove Octavia Butler. She seems to make her way into my consciousness at least once a day, whether it’s through what I’m reading or a podcast I’m listening to, or just … Continue reading →

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Review of N.K. Jemisin’s How Long ‘Til Black History Month

Posted on April 30, 2019

How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? (2018) by science/speculative fiction writer extraordinaire N.K Jemisin is another title that showed up in my Amazon recommendations this past December. The title itself had me hooked; it amazes me that the title had … Continue reading →

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Review of Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor’s How We Get Free

Posted on April 16, 2019

How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective (2017), edited by Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, highlights the work of the Combahee River Collective vis-a-vis poignant and illuminating interviews with The Combahee River Collective founders, Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith, … Continue reading →

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Review of Charles Johnson’s Taming the Ox

Posted on April 2, 2019

I am an admirer of the African American Buddhist writer cartoonist extraordinaire Charles Johnson. Johnson is the recipient of several awards including the coveted MacArthur “Genius Award” as well as Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. I was … Continue reading →

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Review of Nafissa Thomas-Spires’ Heads of the Colored People

Posted on March 19, 2019

Nafissa Thompson-Spires’ short story collection Heads of the Colored People (2018) is incredibly SMART!! All of the stories are amazing—expertly crafted and honed works of literary genius. Some of them are very clearly connected by the individuals who are their subjects … Continue reading →

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