Black Male Writers

NY Times article “Black Male Writers of Our Time” celebrates African American male writers including Civitellians Ross Gay (CRF 2016), Jericho Brown (CRF 2015), Terrance Hayes (CRF 2015), Cornelius Eady (Civitella juror and nominator), and Rickey Laurentiis (CRF 2014), among others, while the article explores how and why African-American writing is currently experiencing unprecedented mainstream appeal and critical recognition.

The poet Jericho Brown (CRF 2015) is quoted saying that “black people don’t have the luxury of being quiet: Every black behavior, no matter how banal — getting out of a car, walking down the street — draws attention or ire. Black bodies, by their very existence, are turned up to the highest volume at all times. All of this is exacerbated by the fact of maleness in our sexist society: Men, even vilified men, outrank women in the hierarchy of being; they are more seen. It is in this charged reality that the work of black male writers finds itself in the spotlight.”

The article also touches on how too often the discussion around writers of color is more about content, and their dazzling artistry is overlooked.

We’re left with the closing thought: “For now, we can rejoice in the gifted writers whom we are privileged to read. And we must be vigilant. We must pay keen attention to who’s in the moment and who’s left out, and why. A host of writers wait in the wings. It’ll be their moment soon. Let it be wide open. Let it be without limits. Let it be as broad as they have the talent to make it.”

Other Civitellians are mentioned throughout the article including Kerry James Marshall (CRF 1998), Patricia Smith (CRF 2017), and Claudia Rankine (CRF 2014).