"Whip-smart." — People
"[A] pitch-perfect blend of wit and keen observation and analysis. A book that makes you laugh and think at the same time." — Shondaland, "15 Hot Books for Summer"
This is Major sets the tone for how black women can manifest greatness in all aspects of life. Using the perfect combination of pop-culture, personal stories, politics and history, Lawson empowers black women and girls to show the world just how “major” they really are. — Parade
"With this collection, Shayla Lawson delivers the goods on patriarchy, white supremacy and contemporary culture with wit, candor and clarity. Part memoir, part criticism, part history, this volume is brave, fresh and reflective." — Ms. Magazine
“Her tone culminates in beautiful poetry, and her writing is drenched in wit and humor. Lawson's skill for storytelling gleams. . . . Lawson's journalistic research is flawless. This book is an accurate account of surviving discrimination that also envelops universal themes like coming-of-age, self-exploration, and resilience. It is Lawson’s love letter to herself and every other Black woman who may have felt invisible or misunderstood. In one of the rare times in print, the totality and the essence of Black women are front and center here.” — Booklist (starred review)
“A hilarious, heartbreaking, and endlessly entertaining homage to black women’s resilience and excellence.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“An introspective collection, both enlightening and humorous, that is highly recommended for readers interested in creative approaches to memoir and storytelling.” — Library Journal (starred review)
“An insightful collection. . . .With sharp insight, Lawson elevates the discussion of race in America.” — Publishers Weekly
“A kaleidoscope of wit, humor, sorrow and deeply felt thinking and questioning of modern life. With a poet’s precision and with a brand of candor and urgency known to us only as Lawson-eque, these essays mark a pivotal expansion in a poet’s bold breach of new ground. And what fertile ground it is.” — Ocean Vuong
"Shayla Lawson is the real deal. There's no way around it. Whip smart, singular, and endlessly fascinating, THIS IS MAJOR is the kind of calling card even author dreams of writing, but not many are able to achieve. I cannot wait to see what she does next!" — Phoebe Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of You Can’t Touch My Hair and Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay
"Shayla Lawson’s This is Major is part cultural criticism, part pop music history, part memoir, part ethnography, and all conscious humor.What I love most about this book is that for all its mastery of various subjects and genres, it is always searingly honest:“I have always been a woman on the verge of a gun. My anger is quiet. Reserved...I grip a pen instead…I do not consider this strategy for assassination a passive action.”This is a brilliant book by a black woman aware that, from Phillis Wheatley to Nina Simone, there is a long history of her special brand of genius." — Jericho Brown
“In Shayla Lawson's engaging new collection ,the essays are not the only thing that is major. Lawson's voice is honest and authentic—that is major. She does not tear through slices of black contemporary womanhood so much as she meanders through them, stopping to smell Black girls' roses and to catalog our thorns. It is a careful yet carefree collection.” — Tressie McMillan Cottom, National Book Award-nominated author of Thick and Lower Ed
“ Written as a prose love poem in essays to black girlhood, black womanhood, and black femmehood, Shayla Lawson’s fourth book is required reading for all, but especially for black women and girls trying to hold space for their whole selves, the whole of their blackness. Lawson lunges into full-bodied critique and historicization of the hurt of white patriarchal supremacy and the white gaze with cunning wit and a fresh scalpel.” — Nafissa Thompson-Spires, author of Heads of the Colored People
"In This Is Major Shayla Lawson skillfully illuminates the unparalleled influence black women and girls have had on mainstream culture. I learned so much from reading this book, while also relishing the humor and fearlessness of Lawson’s inspiring voice. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in pop culture, history, or politics." — Camille Perri, author of The Assistants and When Katie Met Cassidy
"This Is Major is so vital, so full of life, I started it again as soon as I finished it. Shayla Lawson writes like you're having a conversation with your smartest, wisest, funniest friend and you don't want it to end. This book is bursting with pop culture references, hard-earned life lessons, and soul-deep wisdom. It more than lives up to its title: it is major; this book is everything." — R. Eric Thomas, author of Here for It, or How to Save Your Soul in America
"With this collection, Shayla Lawson delivers the goods on patriarchy, white supremacy and contemporary culture with wit, candor and clarity. Part memoir, part criticism, part history, this volume is brave, fresh and reflective."
This is Major sets the tone for how black women can manifest greatness in all aspects of life. Using the perfect combination of pop-culture, personal stories, politics and history, Lawson empowers black women and girls to show the world just how “major” they really are.
"Whip-smart."
"[A] pitch-perfect blend of wit and keen observation and analysis. A book that makes you laugh and think at the same time."
"15 Hot Books for Summer" Shondaland
A kaleidoscope of wit, humor, sorrow and deeply felt thinking and questioning of modern life. With a poet’s precision and with a brand of candor and urgency known to us only as Lawson-eque, these essays mark a pivotal expansion in a poet’s bold breach of new ground. And what fertile ground it is.
"Shayla Lawson is the real deal. There's no way around it. Whip smart, singular, and endlessly fascinating, THIS IS MAJOR is the kind of calling card even author dreams of writing, but not many are able to achieve. I cannot wait to see what she does next!"
Her tone culminates in beautiful poetry, and her writing is drenched in wit and humor. Lawson's skill for storytelling gleams. . . . Lawson's journalistic research is flawless. This book is an accurate account of surviving discrimination that also envelops universal themes like coming-of-age, self-exploration, and resilience. It is Lawson’s love letter to herself and every other Black woman who may have felt invisible or misunderstood. In one of the rare times in print, the totality and the essence of Black women are front and center here.
Booklist (starred review)
"In This Is Major Shayla Lawson skillfully illuminates the unparalleled influence black women and girls have had on mainstream culture. I learned so much from reading this book, while also relishing the humor and fearlessness of Lawson’s inspiring voice. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in pop culture, history, or politics."
In Shayla Lawson's engaging new collection ,the essays are not the only thing that is major. Lawson's voice is honest and authentic—that is major. She does not tear through slices of black contemporary womanhood so much as she meanders through them, stopping to smell Black girls' roses and to catalog our thorns. It is a careful yet carefree collection.
"Shayla Lawson’s This is Major is part cultural criticism, part pop music history, part memoir, part ethnography, and all conscious humor.What I love most about this book is that for all its mastery of various subjects and genres, it is always searingly honest:“I have always been a woman on the verge of a gun. My anger is quiet. Reserved...I grip a pen instead…I do not consider this strategy for assassination a passive action.”This is a brilliant book by a black woman aware that, from Phillis Wheatley to Nina Simone, there is a long history of her special brand of genius."
"This Is Major is so vital, so full of life, I started it again as soon as I finished it. Shayla Lawson writes like you're having a conversation with your smartest, wisest, funniest friend and you don't want it to end. This book is bursting with pop culture references, hard-earned life lessons, and soul-deep wisdom. It more than lives up to its title: it is major; this book is everything."
Written as a prose love poem in essays to black girlhood, black womanhood, and black femmehood, Shayla Lawson’s fourth book is required reading for all, but especially for black women and girls trying to hold space for their whole selves, the whole of their blackness. Lawson lunges into full-bodied critique and historicization of the hurt of white patriarchal supremacy and the white gaze with cunning wit and a fresh scalpel.
★ 06/01/2020
Poet and educator Lawson (creative writing, Amherst Coll.; I Think I'm Ready To See Frank Ocean ) makes her nonfiction debut with this collection of essays on feminism and womanhood. Lawson raises up the many ways that Black girls and women contribute to culture, though their contributions are often erased or appropriated, while also emphasizing that exceptionalism isn't required; regular people have as much value as do exceptional ones. Lawson's writings cover a broad range of topics, from her experiences in a prize-winning but drama-plagued high school theater troupe to the difficulties AI has reading dark skin, Diana Ross's confidence and persistence, Tinder dating while Black, the problems with Black Girl Magic and with performative antiracism, the history of hipsters, and much more. Of particular interest are interludes of poems and more experimental approaches to memoir, including a dictionary-style timeline of the author's experiences with words used to mean "Black," a micro-play on intraracial dating, and a series of reflections on Black women's sexuality intertwined with SZA's CTRL album. VERDICT An introspective collection, both enlightening and humorous, that is highly recommended for readers interested in creative approaches to memoir and storytelling.—Monica Howell, Northwestern Health Sciences Univ. Lib., Bloomington, MN
Shayla Lawson’s agile narration adds another layer of depth to this collection of essays about Black girlhood and womanhood. Whether she’s writing about microaggressions at work or the idiosyncrasies of Twitter, her blend of humor and critique is always engaging. What’s especially remarkable is how Lawson alters her voice to fit her material. In an essay about performing FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE/ WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF in high school, her tone is somber and reflective. In a piece about racism in the workplace, she infuses her voice with sharp humor. When she’s talking about singer Diana Ross, you can hear the smile beneath her words. Her narration is as varied as the essays, making this audiobook a true pleasure to listen to. L.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Shayla Lawson’s agile narration adds another layer of depth to this collection of essays about Black girlhood and womanhood. Whether she’s writing about microaggressions at work or the idiosyncrasies of Twitter, her blend of humor and critique is always engaging. What’s especially remarkable is how Lawson alters her voice to fit her material. In an essay about performing FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE/ WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF in high school, her tone is somber and reflective. In a piece about racism in the workplace, she infuses her voice with sharp humor. When she’s talking about singer Diana Ross, you can hear the smile beneath her words. Her narration is as varied as the essays, making this audiobook a true pleasure to listen to. L.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
★ 2020-03-29
Black women, writes poet and creative writing instructor Lawson, have always been “possessed of irony and rebellion,” blazing trails and disrupting the status quo. The problem is that “the world wants everything we have to offer, except us. It is not that Black Girl Magic isn’t real. It is that it doesn’t set us free.” In a narrative that is part memoir and part lively social history lesson, the author blends her own story with black women’s broader cultural histories. An essay on the rough emotional terrain of Lawson’s senior year in high school and early 20s gives way to pieces about her failure to become “Twitter famous,” dealing with bias in a “transparent creative sustainable millennial” workplace, and white people mistaking her for black celebrities such as Oprah and Whoopi Goldberg. With smart, infectious prose that often reads like poetry, Lawson illuminates the racism that renders so many black women and their accomplishments invisible—literally, in the case of AI’s discrimination problem. The author also details lesser-known histories about the true origins of the term “hipster” and Rodeo Caldonia, a 1980s-era performance collective of radical black Brooklynites who “were fourth-wave feminists before Riot Grrrl ever hit the third wave.” Lawson celebrates Diana Ross as “major,” an icon who is both “intimate and invincible,” a balm for black women who are routinely viewed as “difficult” or “impossible to get close to.” The music of SZA inspires an extended meditation on dating disasters, sexual double standards, and heartbreak. Lawson’s essays—some traditional, some experimental in form—deftly challenge the notion of #BlackGirlMagic” as an extension of the stereotype of black women as exotic beasts of burden unworthy of protection, as body parts and hairstyles to be appropriated. The author honors black women in their fullness.
A hilarious, heartbreaking, and endlessly entertaining homage to black women’s resilience and excellence.
