In Magically Black and Other Essays Jerald 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.”
“Walker’s observations are poignant and insightful. . . . Walker is a witty, talented writer. A funny and perspicacious essay collection about Black life in America.” — Kirkus Reviews
'In these stirring pieces, Walker (How to Make a Slave and Other Essays), a creative writing professor at Emerson College, meditates on living as a Black man in America. Delivering sharp assessments of America’s racist mores and brimming with pathos and levity, this packs a punch.” — Publishers Weekly
You might also be interested in:
