A writer, from inner-city Chicago, adds color to literary conversations by connecting listeners to the text, its author and the larger cultural context that surrounds them. This is a lit podcast for avid readers, non-readers, underrepresented folks and people who honestly couldn’t care less about a book or its meaning.
Tune in for a wide-ranging discussion on masculinity, belonging, loss, hip-hop and inclusivity with Michael Torres. Torres is the author of the National Poetry Series winner "An Incomplete List of Names". A brilliant book by a talented poet.Purchase your copy here: http://www.beacon.org/An-Incomplete-List-of-Names-P1611.aspx
Tune in for a discussion on the poetry collection "Ararat" by American poet and 2020 Nobel Laureate, Louise Glück. In this episode I discuss Glück's practice of psycho analysis and how she's used it to mine the human psyche for understanding. This book is essential for anyone who's ever felt anything, experienced significant trauma or simply wants to understand what it means to truly look within.
This week I discuss "Snow Country" by Japan's first Nobel Laureate for Literature, Yasunari Kawabata. In this episode I discuss the challenges of love, jealousy and neglect, abuses of power, and also how we can all benefit from loving well and appreciating our loved ones.
Randy and MacArthur Genius recipient, Jason de Leon, discuss Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas. This is a timeless memoir about an Afro-Puerto Rican man coming to terms with his race in the mean streets of Spanish Harlem, in the Jim Crow South and in the clouded vortex of his mind.
In this episode, I discuss Between the World and Me, the National Book Award winning memoir by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Tune in for my thoughts on the racial divide in the United States, how this book relates to the Black Lives Matter movement, and why it's more important than ever that we challenge our institutions.
Welcome to Literature in Color fellow book lovers, passionate book haters and everyone else who couldn't care less. Listen for a glimpse at what's ahead.