The New York Times bestseller, these groundbreaking essays and poems
about race--collected by National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward and
written by the most important voices of her generation--are "thoughtful,
searing, and at times, hopeful. The Fire This Time is vivid proof that
words are important, because of their power to both cleanse and to
clarify" (USA TODAY).
In light of recent tragedies and widespread protests across the nation,
The Progressive magazine republished one of its most famous pieces:
James Baldwin's 1962 "Letter to My Nephew," which was later published in
his landmark book, The Fire Next Time. Addressing his fifteen-year-old
namesake on the one hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation
Proclamation, Baldwin wrote: "You know and I know, that the country is
celebrating one hundred years of freedom one hundred years too soon."
Award-winning author Jesmyn Ward knows that Baldwin's words ring as true
as ever today. In response, she has gathered short essays, memoir, and a
few essential poems to engage the question of race in the United States.
And she has turned to some of her generation's most original thinkers
and writers to give voice to their concerns.
The Fire This Time is divided into three parts that shine a light on
the darkest corners of our history, wrestle with our current
predicament, and envision a better future. Of the eighteen pieces, ten
were written specifically for this volume.
In the fifty-odd years since Baldwin's essay was published, entire
generations have dared everything and made significant progress. But
the idea that we are living in the post-Civil Rights era, that we are a
"post-racial" society is an inaccurate and harmful reflection of a truth
the country must confront. Baldwin's "fire next time" is now upon us,
and it needs to be talked about.
Contributors include Carol Anderson, Jericho Brown, Garnette Cadogan,
Edwidge Danticat, Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, Mitchell S. Jackson, Honoree
Jeffers, Kima Jones, Kiese Laymon, Daniel Jose Older, Emily Raboteau,
Claudia Rankine, Clint Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Wendy S. Walters,
Isabel Wilkerson, and Kevin Young.
