★ 01/31/2022
Poet and memoirist Alexander (The Light of the World) expands on her New Yorker essay in this vigorous and inspiring reflection on how Black art reckons with the traumas of racism and racial violence. Contending that the “war against Black people feels as if it is gearing up for another epic round,” Alexander highlights how Black poets, artists, authors, and musicians have “continuously articulated the problem, the hope, and the possibility of America.” She lucidly analyzes poems by Amiri Baraka, Lucille Clifton, and Clint Smith, among others, and describes the political battle over historian John Hope Franklin’s eighth-grade textbook, Land of the Free, written in 1966, as an antecedent to today’s fights over critical race theory. Elsewhere, Alexander discusses how the “worldview” of African Americans who grew up in the past 25 years has been shaped by the killings of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, George Floyd, and others, and spotlights music videos by Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus that “bring together the naturalistic and the visionary” to showcase the “reanimating” power of Black joy and community. By capturing the rich spectrum of Black culture in America, Alexander offers hope and instruction for younger generations. The result is a thought-provoking must-read. Agent: Faith Childs, Faith Childs Literary Agency. (Apr.)
Praise for The Trayvon Generation: "A profound and lyrical meditation on race, class, justice and their intersections with art...Magnificent."—New York Times
"Powerful, poignant, and deeply moving. I hope you'll check it out." —Michelle Obama, Former First Lady of the United States
"A series of meditations on cultural and artistic artifacts that illuminate “the color line”...Alexander is like a cultural archaeologist, dusting off and examining relics and shedding new light on the society that produced them...She brings a poet’s clarity of language to the fraught national discussion."—TIME
"The book offers historic perspective and poignant observations that make this an urgent and critical read."—Jake Tapper, CNN
"In Elizabeth Alexander’s beautiful, relevant book, The Trayvon Generation, the poet redefines the proximity of Black identity to loss as an opportunity to create new rituals and a new paradigm...The book offers wisdom, reflection, and reportage with a crystalline precision infused with a powerful, elegant empathy."—The Boston Globe
"How do you mark your pages when you read a book? Whatever you use, have a lot of them on hand because nearly every other paragraph of The Trayvon Generation contains a sentence or three that you'll want to remember, to re-read, or turn over in your mind...So must-readable, so thoughtful and compelling...you'll want to share with your older teenager and your friends, for discussion."—The Philadelphia Tribune
"Dr. Alexander is an acclaimed scholar and poet. She's also a superb writer and unusually well-qualified to lead us to meditate and learn about the intersections of art, poetry, history, and race."—Dan Rather, journalist and New York Times bestselling author of What Unites Us
"The Trayvon Generation is definitely essential reading for every generation."—Cosmopolitan
"An essential read for our times by the only person who could’ve written it so exquisitely."—Ms. Magazine
"In a taut, lyrical, and eminently readable volume, Alexander helps the reader make sense of the presents and futures being forged by Black artists who shall inherit the earth and thus have to find ways to delight themselves amid a continual abundance of racialized violence."—Vulture
“A powerful book which unveils the ways in which race is woven so deeply into the fabric of American culture, and sheds a light on how art can reveal the urgency of this issue.”—Town & Country
“Electrifying and poignant, The Trayvon Generation sheds light on the role of art as criticism and medicine.”—Esquire
"Punctuated with gripping pieces of art that complement the text. Each piece is compelling in its own right as they entwine with the representation of human experience that Alexander demonstrates for readers… At its core, this is a powerful treatise on the humanity of Black Americans and how it has been denied, how generations of people have persisted despite that fact, and how it continues to be one of the most pressing issues we face as a nation. A dynamic critique on the sprawling effects of racism and its effects on today’s youth."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Poet and memoirist Alexander deftly blends family history and cultural criticism in this bittersweet essay collection on race, memory, and memorialization…Alexander is a thoughtful and eloquent chronicler of racial anxiety and pain.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Vigorous and inspiring…By capturing the rich spectrum of Black culture in America, Alexander offers hope and instruction for younger generations. The result is a thought-provoking must-read.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A very moving short book that seeks to challenge readers’ assumptions about American society; highly recommended for all libraries and for reading groups."—Library Journal (starred review)
★ 03/01/2022
Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet and scholar of African American studies Alexander (The Light of the World) eloquently writes about the importance of bearing witness to the violence directed against Black people in the United States. She addresses parenting and protecting the young people whom she calls the "Trayvon Generation," who witnessed the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner and many others via videos on their cell phones. Alexander deftly touches on many other important topics related to violence against Black people, by examining how American society normalizes white supremacy—a fundamental problem that Black people have faced since enslaved people were brought to the U.S. Alexander cleverly reminds readers that Confederate flags flew at the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, while throughout the country, Americans are constantly surrounded by portraits of slaveholding Founding Fathers and university founders. What is most striking is the way Alexander incorporates the value of public art, poetry, dance, and writing as central to memorializing and commemorating Black history and events. Alexander argues that white supremacy in the United States cannot be fixed by Black people alone; it must be reckoned with by all of society. VERDICT A very moving short book that seeks to challenge readers' assumptions about American society; highly recommended for all libraries and for reading groups.—Amy Lewontin
★ 2021-12-24
An artful book-length essay on generational trauma in Black youth.
Weaving together prose, poetry, and artwork, prizewinning educator, poet, and cultural advocate Alexander, who recited a poem at Barack Obama’s first inauguration ceremony, depicts in sharp relief the realities of living as a Black youth in today’s America. In this short yet poignant book, the author notes the ways in which Black people have always been marginalized, but she looks specifically at the difficult experiences of those who have come of age in the past 25 years. Citing such problems as depression in youth, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and how police brutality has become more apparent in the age of social media, Alexander paints a vivid portrait of a societal landscape that is fundamentally different depending on race, class, and other demographic markers. While recounting her personal story—including her 15 years as a professor at Yale, which, like many older colleges, has a problematic history with the slave trade—the author roots the text in history, looking at the legacies of enslavement and Confederacy movements and touching on key figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., and Zora Neale Hurston. The text is punctuated with gripping pieces of art that complement the text. Each piece is compelling in its own right as they entwine with the representation of human experience that Alexander demonstrates for readers. In one of the most significant sections, the author references a letter to Du Bois in which a scholar asked him “whether the negro sheds tears,” and “if so, under what general conditions—anger, fear, shame, pain, sorrow, etc.” At its core, this is a powerful treatise on the humanity of Black Americans and how it has been denied, how generations of people have persisted despite that fact, and how it continues to be one of the most pressing issues we face as a nation.
A dynamic critique on the sprawling effects of racism and its effects on today’s youth.
★ 09/01/2022
Poet and memoirist Alexander (The Light of the World) narrates her own work, expanding on a piece that she wrote for The New Yorker during the tumultuous summer of 2020. That June, the United States witnessed the death of a Black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a white police officer, an incident that became a tipping point of racial injustice. This work, which interweaves prose, poetry, and art, is a lyrical response to the centuries-long violence meted out to Black Americans. Alexander discusses the expansive and lasting aftereffects of witnessing targeted, racially motivated violence and what that means for the generations growing up amidst this shadow of chaos and tension. Alexander's powerful book proves that poetry is the ultimate vehicle for exploring this truly painful subject. Hearing the poet's words read in her own voice, full of sorrow and anger, makes for an incredible listening experience. VERDICT Hearing this work is a simultaneously motivating and heartbreaking experience. An absolute must-listen and essential purchase for all libraries.—Anna Clark
Elizabeth Alexander, who delivered a poem at the first inauguration of Barack Obama, narrates her essay on white supremacy and her opposition to it. The work is also about the nature of racism and its effects—and how expressions of it and responses to it have changed over recent decades. Those who don’t believe there is institutionalized racism in the U.S. should listen to this. For the first few minutes, Alexander seems slightly hesitant as she uses pauses for emphasis, but she soon hits her stride, delivering her own words—and those of the artists, musicians, and poets she quotes—with strength, passion, and controlled anger. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Elizabeth Alexander, who delivered a poem at the first inauguration of Barack Obama, narrates her essay on white supremacy and her opposition to it. The work is also about the nature of racism and its effects—and how expressions of it and responses to it have changed over recent decades. Those who don’t believe there is institutionalized racism in the U.S. should listen to this. For the first few minutes, Alexander seems slightly hesitant as she uses pauses for emphasis, but she soon hits her stride, delivering her own words—and those of the artists, musicians, and poets she quotes—with strength, passion, and controlled anger. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
