Surviving President Tr*mp: Lessons from the 1960s and Octavia E. ButlerI originally wrote this essay to coincide with the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. It deeply grieves me to publish it…Nov 8, 2024Nov 8, 2024
Three Things Writers Get Wrong About CharacterizationA shorter version of this essay went out to my newsletter today, but I wanted to share it more widely. Join my newsletter at…Aug 3, 2024Aug 3, 2024
An Interview with N.K. Jemisin — Lifewriting Podcast on the PageLISTEN to the entire podcast (Episode 5) here.Mar 3, 2022Mar 3, 2022
My Father’s Oral History Mystery: Lyles Station and the 1857 “Round House Battle”[I first published this as a blog post in 2009, but reposting for Medium.com]Jun 19, 2020Jun 19, 2020
Writing through grief: the Dozier School and my novel-in-progress, The ReformatoryThis week, on the anniversary of the death of Emmett Till, I reflected on how grief has both stalled and driven me as I’ve been writing my…Aug 30, 20192Aug 30, 20192
Jordan Peele’s Us: Black Horror Comes Out of the Shadows“It’s our time now.” –UsMar 24, 20194Mar 24, 20194
Published inHuman PartsThe Knowing“Some people think knowing is power. But Mama doesn’t feel that way, not at all. A curse, she calls it.”Oct 24, 20185Oct 24, 20185
