A Brief History of Seven Killings - Marlon James

After 20 years I have finally bit the bullet and applied for a Toronto Public Library card. Yes, it has been that long. As a child I was only in Toronto in the summers, but I spent as many days and as many hours as possible in the Oakwood and Rogers library. I can practically feel the goosebumps rising on my skin from the air conditioner as they did, even though I often sat in the front by the window to get as much warmth from the sunlight as possible.

In any case, here I am. Library card in hand. I am now determined to use it to listen to audiobooks —there are too many things to read and not enough time. I am voracious these days. To my surprise, audiobooks are in high demand, and there are actual waitlists involved in their procurement from the library. Perhaps something to do with licenses, though I’m not impatient enough to enquire. Nearly everything I am eager to audio read is upwards of a 15 week wait, except for Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings.

I have become quite obsessed with Marlon James these days. Between his podcast where he discusses books written by dead authors, his interview by the NYT Book Review podcast, and this Criterion exclusive, I’m convinced the man is chronically loveable. I have hardly scratched the surface of Seven Killings, but I am entranced. He writes brutality and violence so well that you will wince, whether you are reading it on the page (I find myself cross referencing the hard copy, often) or listening to the full cast audiobook as I am. Speaking of the cast —some of these accents are atrocious. Bam Bam’s is very good. What a character.

Some other highlights, for me, were found in the characters Demus and Nina/Kim/Dorcas/Millicent, Alex Pierce, and Weeper (god, Weeper!), but especially Demus who disappeared as quickly as he entered the story. Indelible is the moment he says he has maybe laughed two times in his whole life, but then thinks it makes him sound old since he is only 20.

In the Dream House - Carmen Maria Machado

A previous colleague of mine, whose taste in literature and fashion is impeccable, recommended this book to me. I had reach Carmen Maria Machado’s debut collection of short stories, Her Body and Other Parties, and enjoyed them. Though, not enough to dash to the bookstore for this most recent release. But then the fashionable and well-read ex-colleague either dm’d me directly or posted something on their Instagram stories that convinced me it was in my best interest to read In the Dream House. I will be forever grateful.

I don’t have much to say about In the Dream House, except that it is a very clever approach to memoir, one that I wished I had considered before —the telltale sign of the originator’s brilliance. The way Machado weaves criticism and research of lesbian domestic violence into her own story of an abusive relationship cracked my heart open. There is no other way to put it, because at every turn Machado has found another way —through pop culture reference, court case transcripts, seventeenth century law— to explain why this happened to her, and why it’s happened to many others without acknowledgement.

I enjoyed this memoir immensely.

Felon - Reginald Dwayne Betts

I don’t read poetry as much as I would like, but have always maintained its effectiveness as a medium when done well. What does well mean? I’m not sure, but Reginald Dwayne Betts does whatever “it” is very well.

I first learned of Betts from this podcast, where I found him inexplicably enchanting. His voice, his way of speaking, and perhaps the fact that he was on the phone and sounded like he was miles away absorbed me, immediately. For better or worse, I remain seduced by academia and its promises of freedom, and Betts’ PhD candidacy does not help quell my affection.

As for the poems in Felon, they are this perfect balance of raw fear and beauty, a thing, I suppose, only poetry can accomplish. They are not raw in the Eastern Promises or Marlon James sense, but almost tender in the ways Betts illustrates the ways in which fear, in the Ta-Nehisi Coates sense, has defined a portion of his life, a portion that he spent in prison for a crime he committed, out of fear, of course. And not only that, but how that same fear has been wielded by the state against many other incarcerated or court involved people across the US —their guilt or innocence notwithstanding. All through poetry. You know, Audre Lorde says that poetry is vital for survival and for thinking of new ways of being and striving for justice in the world, and Betts has verified it.

Ducks, Newburyport - Lucy Ellmann

I have no doubt that it I will take me at least a year to get through Lucy Ellman’s Ducks, Newburyport. As such, I will return to this page periodically to share my thoughts. This will keep me accountable and, hopefully, engaged.

3.15.20

When I purchased the book, I was not aware that it was almost entirely a single sentence. As I am often guilty of, I purchased this book because of its beautiful colours and design, as well as the size. When you see a book that is over a thousand pages, you can’t help but wonder what is so special about its contents and subject that it has been allowed to exist. And, no less, become a finalist for the most prestigious awards (Booker), and winning others (Goldsmith). I was in a particularly good mood the day I decided to begin reading Ducks, Newburyport. It was March, the sun was shining, my husband was away on a work trip, the house was quiet and the dog and I were bored. The first twenty pages (all I could manage) were long, but immensely entertaining. I stopped several times to marvel at the lists of household cleaning supplies, baking ingredients, and other free associations. I even recorded myself reading some of it, just to hear how it would roll off the tongue. I laughed. A lot. I’ve since moved on to read other things, but glance at it everyday —perhaps I will pick it up again sooner than later.

Race: Antiquity and Its Legacy - Denise Eileen McCoskey

I read books like this often, these days, for an ongoing research project about the construction and deconstruction of racist ideas.

I’m included this in the list even though I did not read it for the same reasons I have read the others, namely, enjoyment, but it has contributed to the way I am reading and engaging with subjects all the same. It is perhaps useless to summarize this book, as it is itself a summary of a sweeping history, and one of the shorted books I have been able to consume on the subject and its refractions. So, I will not attempt to do so. I will only say that if you are interested in the ideas I have mentioned so far, then it is worth reading, and it is an easy enough task to undertake.