Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.61 AVERAGE
4.61 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Wow, yeah. Oof.
One of the most beautiful books of essays and criticism that I've ever read, and some of the most beautiful writing you could read period. Hanif Abdurraqib writes with such reverence, compassion, and deep honesty about music, art, culture that it fills you with a drive to be a better person. The way he's able to extrapolate and connect his subject matters to broad topics in human experience such as love, life, grief, community, etc. is truly revelatory. I think I wept profusely through like 90% of this book as I made my way through reading it. The type of writer that feels like he changes your life after you read him.
One of the most beautiful books of essays and criticism that I've ever read, and some of the most beautiful writing you could read period. Hanif Abdurraqib writes with such reverence, compassion, and deep honesty about music, art, culture that it fills you with a drive to be a better person. The way he's able to extrapolate and connect his subject matters to broad topics in human experience such as love, life, grief, community, etc. is truly revelatory. I think I wept profusely through like 90% of this book as I made my way through reading it. The type of writer that feels like he changes your life after you read him.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
In one of the essays in They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, he talks about a stranger telling him he seems kind. He says that what he thinks they’re across actually responding to is the absence of something they’ve come to expect from Black men because of stereotypes perpetuated by media. I once had the opportunity to hear Hanif Abdurraqib speak about his work and get a book signed by him. He seemed like a perfectly nice person. I did not sense any particular kindness about his presence. He seemed like a normal guy. Where his kindness is on full display is in his writing. It’s there along with his fear, anger, hope, joy, love, confusion, and deep, insightful understanding. They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us is alive with tenderness and passion.
Insane to pick this up by chance on the verge of another trump presidency. Reading something from early 2017 is like a portal to a timeline where things were normal. No one had any idea how bad things could get and yet Hanif seems to have already been battening down the hatches. I laughed (but mostly cried) reading many of these and I would take the time to stop and listen to whatever music he was talking about and reread. I’m super sold on Carly Rae Jepson now and I wasn’t even a fan prior. 11/10 recommend
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
There is little more satiating than hearing someone talk for hours about the things they truly know and love. + no one touches prose like people who are poets first. great schtuff
thank u bf chris hadley for this rec. i want his brain so bad!
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Classism
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced