Aaron Robertson is a writer, an editor, and a translator of Italian literature. His translation of Igiaba Scego’s
Beyond Babylon was short-listed for the 2020 PEN Translation
Prize and the National Translation Award, and in 2021 he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant. His work has appeared in
The New York Times,
The Nation,
Foreign Policy,
n+1,
The Point, and
Literary Hub, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Robertson's nonfiction debut is
The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America.
At Lit Hub the author tagged "nine key works that provide a window into the long history of Black utopian experiments, tracing it through political, social, and speculative lenses." One title on the list:
Wilson Jeremiah Moses, Afrotopia: The Roots of African American Popular History
Moses explores the historical development of utopian thought within African American intellectual traditions, tracing its roots from the eighteenth century through the twentieth century. He examines how Black thinkers and leaders, from 
Martin Delany to Marcus Garvey, constructed visions of a better future for African Americans, often blending utopian ideals with nationalist and diasporic aspirations.
Moses highlights the complexities of Afrotopian thought, revealing how it encompasses both the hope for a utopian future and the critique of present realities. By analyzing various political and religious movements—including Black nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and Ethiopianism—Afrotopia uncovers how African American visions of liberation were often grounded in the desire for a separate, self-governing Black nation, whether in Africa or in the United States.
Through these historical explorations, Moses shows how Afrotopian dreams have been a driving force behind African American activism and cultural production.
Read about
the other entries on the list.
--Marshal Zeringue
Michael J. Seidlinger is the Filipino-American author of The Body Harvest, Anybody Home?, Tekken 5, and other books.
Preston Yardley had intended to target only the populations of enemy countries. The aural weapon transformed those who heard it into bloodthirsty zombie-like beings dubbed the fevered. To get the outbreak under control, Yardley allies the federal government with Terradyne Industries, launching a harsh initiative to restore order. Hopes for a reversal of the apocalypse may lie with Naomi Laurent, a French woman rumored to somehow have gained the ability to reverse the effects of The Message and make the fevered human again. The search for Laurent is interwoven with the narratives of several other characters, including John Bonner, a security officer for Terradyne, and Katherine Moriarty, who tends to her son even after he becomes one of the fevered. Rosson’s sophisticated plotting manages to toggle between these perspectives without ever slackening the tension. This is literary horror at its finest.
.jpg)
Posts
