Jan. 3 – Claudia Rankine – Just Us [Christmas Calendar]

The Englewood Review of Books
Best Books of 2020
Advent / Christmas Calendar
January 3

 

Claudia Rankine Just UsJust Us: An American Conversation
Claudia Rankine

Hardback: Graywolf Press, 2020
Buy Now: [  IndieBound ] [  Amazon ]  [  Kindle ]  [  Audible
 
In Just Us, Rankine the poet becomes an anthropologist. If her mode of discomfiting those whom she encounters strikes readers as unexpectedly mild, it might be because the strident urgency of racial politics in the U.S. escalated while her book was on its way toward publication. She chooses her words carefully as she engages, positioning herself in the minefield of her interlocutors’ emotions so that dialogue can happen. While waiting to board an airplane, for example, she initiates a conversation with a fellow passenger, who chalks up his son’s rejection from Yale to his inability to “play the diversity card.” Rankine has to resist pelting the man with questions that might make him wary of being labeled a racist and cause him to shut down. “I wanted to learn something that surprised me about this stranger, something I couldn’t have known beforehand.” Above all, she is curious about how he thinks, and how she can raise the issue of his privilege in a way that prompts more conversation rather than less.

 

Watch a video intro to this book…


 

 
 

<<<<<< PREVIOUS DAY’s Book

 
 

[ Return to the Advent Calendar ]

 







ADVERTISEMENT:
L10-Launch Promo Blog Phase 1 CTA 1

 
FREE EBOOK!
Reading for the Common Good
From ERB Editor Christopher Smith


"This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church."
-Karen Swallow Prior


Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook!
We respect your email privacy


In the News...
Understanding Christian Nationalism: Essential Books [A Reading Guide]
Most Anticipated Books of the Fall for Christian Readers!
Ten Theology Books to Watch For – September 2022
Journalist Barbara Ehrenreich died earlier this month. Here's a few video clips that introduce her work
Hilarious One-Star Customer Reviews of Bibles