In honor of Black History Month, we’re Violet proud to spotlight the literary contributions made by Black NYU alumni and faculty writers. Explore the talented voices below for your 2023 TBR.

Quicklist: Autobiography/MemoirChildren's Literature | Cooking | Fiction | History/Social Science | Humor | Nonfiction | Poetry | Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Short Stories 

[Note: This list is not exhaustive and will be updated periodically.]

Autobiography/Memoir  

Hafizah Augustus Geter (GSAS ’22)

The Black Period by Hafizah Augustus Geter

The Black Period: On Personhood, Race, and Origin (2022)

"An acclaimed poet reclaims her origin story as the queer daughter of a Muslim Nigerian immigrant and a Black American visual artist in this groundbreaking memoir, combining lyrical prose, biting criticism, and haunting visuals."

Bettye Kearse (GSAS ’67)

The Other Madisons by Bettye Kearse (GSAS ’67)

The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President's Black Family (2020)

A newly released autobiography that Kirkus Reviews calls "A Roots for a new generation, rich in storytelling and steeped in history."

 

Janet Mock (GSAS ’06)

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock (GSAS '06)

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More (2014)

Winner of the 2015 Stonewall Book Award, this author, actress, director, producer, transgender rights activist, and TV host was named an NYU Alumni Changemaker of the Year in 2019.


Children's Literature

Lola Ajayi (WAG ’17)

Taiwo and Kehinde: The Wedding Trip by Lola Ajayi

Taiwo and Kehinde: The Wedding Trip (2018)

Taiwo and Kehinde: The Wedding Trip takes readers through a colorful, cultural, emotional yet humorous, and family-oriented journey of twelve-year-old twin sisters who venture into the world of entrepreneurship to achieve their financial goal.

Tracey Baptiste (WSC ’93, STEINHARDT ’95)

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste (WSC ’93, STEINHARDT ’95)

The Jumbies (Book One) (2015)

The Washington Post states, “Tracey Baptiste scares up new audiences to learn about jumbies...She builds a fairy tale about a brave girl and her adventures among Caribbean creatures.”

 


Cooking

Bryant Terry (GSAS ’01)

Afro-Vegan by Bryant Terry (GSAS '01)

Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed (2014)

Nominated for a 2015 NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Literary Work category. Winner of the James Beard Foundation 2015 Leadership Award.

 


Fiction

Afia Atakora (TSOA ’12)

Conjure Women by Afia Atakora (TSOA '12)

Conjure Women (2020)

Kirkus Reviews says Atakora's novel is "an engrossing debut . . . Atakora structures a plot with plenty of satisfying twists. Life in the immediate aftermath of slavery is powerfully rendered in this impressive first novel.”

Uzodinma Iweala, Visiting Professor of Creative Writing

Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala

Speak No Evil (2018)

Winner of the Gold Nautilus Award for Fiction.

Mitchell S. Jackson (GSAS ’04)

The Residue Years by Mitchell S. Jackson (GSAS ‘04)

The Residue Years (2013)

Winner of the 2014 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.

Maaza Mengiste (GSAS ’07)

Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste (GSAS ‘07)

Beneath the Lion's Gaze (2010)

Winner of the 2011 NAACP Image Award.

Zadie Smith, Professor of Creative Writing

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

White Teeth (2001)

Winner of The Whitbread First Novel Award, The Guardian First Book Award, The James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, and The Commonwealth Writers' First Book Award.


History/Social Science

Yelena Bailey (GSAS ’10)

How the Streets Were Made by Yelena Bailey

How the Streets Were Made: Housing Segregation and Black Life in America (Upcoming release: December 2020)

Ingrid Banks of University of California, Santa Barbara states, “Compellingly argued and in line with Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me, Yelena Bailey illustrates her ability to present the streets as an ideological entity as well as expand on how this has come to be.”

Laurie Lambert (GSAS ’10)

Comrade Sister: Caribbean Feminist Revisions of the Grenada Revolution

Comrade Sister: Caribbean Feminist Revisions of the Grenada Revolution (2020)

With Comrade Sister, Laurie Lambert offers the first comprehensive study of how gender and sexuality produced different narratives of the Grenada Revolution. Reimagining this period with women at its center, Laurie Lambert shows how the revolution must be recognized for its both productive and corrosive tendencies.


Humor

Chloé Hilliard (CAS ’02)

F*ck Your Diet: And Other Things My Thighs Tell Me by Chloe HIlliard

F*ck Your Diet: And Other Things My Thighs Tell Me (2020)

"The perfect mix of cultural commentary, conspiracies, and confessions, F*ck Your Diet pokes fun at the all too familiar, misguided quest for better health, permanent weight loss, and a sense of self-worth."


Nonfiction

Kenrya Rankin (SPS ’07)

ANTI RACISM: Powerful Voices, Inspiring Ideas

ANTI RACISM: Powerful Voices, Inspiring Ideas (2020)

"From activist and author of How We Fight White Supremacy comes this slim yet powerful collection of quotes from over 100 imperative voices in the anti-racism movement...get yours to take a break, rejuvenate, refresh and get back into the fray."
—Ms. Magazine


Poetry

 Ama Codjoe (GSAS ’17)

Bluest Nude by Ama Codjoe

Bluest Nude (2022)

"Codjoe’s poems explore how the archetype of the artist complicates the typical expectations of women: be gazed upon, be silent, be selfless, reproduce. Dialoguing with and through art, Bluest Nude considers alternative ways of holding and constructing the self."

Rio Cortez (GSAS ’13)

Golden Ax by Rio Cortez

Golden Ax (2022)

"From a visionary writer praised for her captivating work on Black history and experience comes a poetry collection exploring personal, political, and artistic frontiers, journeying from her family’s history as “Afropioneers” in the American West to shimmering glimpses of transcendent, liberated futures."

Toi Derricotte (GSAS ’84)

The Black Notebooks by Toi Derricottee (GSAS '84)

The Black Notebooks: An Interior Journey (1997)

Winner of the Annisfield-Wolf Book Award for nonfiction.

Terrance Hayes, Artist-in-Residence

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin (2018)

Finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry. One of The New York Times Critics’ Top Books of 2018.

Ishion Hutchinson (GSAS ’08)

House of Lords and Commons by Ishion Hutchinson (GSAS '08)

House of Lords and Commons (2017)

A collection that traverses the borders of culture and time. Winner of the 2011 PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award.

Major Jackson, Artist-in-Residence

The Absurd Man by Major Jackson

The Absurd Man (2020)

In this collection of poems, Jackson explores the complexity between perception and reality, the body and desire, accountability and judgment.

Tyehimba Jess (GSAS ’04)  

Olio by Tyehimba Jess (GSAS '04)

Olio (2016)

Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

John Keene (GSAS ’97)

Punks: New & Selected Poems by John Keene

Punks: New and Selected Poems (2021)

"With depth and breadth, Punks weaves together historic narratives of loss, lust, and love."

Yusef Komunyakaa, Professor of English

The Emperor of Water Clocks by Yusef Komunyakaa

The Emperor of Water Clocks (2015)

Ta-Nehisi Coates of The New York Times Style Magazine says, “Probably my favorite living poet. No one else taught me more about how important it was to think about how words make people feel. It's not enough for people to know something is true. They have to feel it's true.”

Quraysh Ali Lansana (GSAS ’02)

The Skin of Dreams by Quaraysh Ali Lansana (GSAS '02)

The Skin of Dreams (2019)

Winner of the 2020 Benjamin Franklin Award (Silver).

Robin Coste Lewis (GSAS ’13)

Voyage of the Sable Venus by Robin Coste Lewis (GSAS '13)

Voyage of the Sable Venus (2015)

Winner of the 2015 National Book Award for Poetry.

To The Realization of Perfect Helplessness by Robin Coste Lewis

To The Realization of Perfect Helplessness (2022)

"A genre-bending exploration of poetry, photography, and human migration—another revelatory visual expedition from the National Book Award–winning poet who changed the way we see art, the museum, and the Black female figure."

Morgan Parker (GSAS ’12)

Magical Negro by Morgan Parker (GSAS ‘12)

Magical Negro (2019)

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Washington Post states, “Morgan Parker continues to fearlessly explore what it means to be a black woman in the United States today. . . . Bold and edgy, the writing spotlights the strength and tenacity that enable the speaker to survive grief and inequity.”

Karisma Price (GSAS ’19)

I'm Always so Serious by Karisma Price

I'm Always So Serious (2023)

"Karisma Price’s stunning debut collection is an extended meditation on Blackness, on family, and on loss. Anchored in New Orleans and New York City, these poems braid personal and public histories into a cultural reckoning of past and present."

Saul Williams (TSOA ’97)  

US (a.) by Saul Williams (TSOA ‘97)

US (a.) (2015)

An all-new collection of poems that embodies the spirit of a culture that questions sentiments and realities, embracing a cross-section of pop culture, hip hop, and the greater world politic of the moment.


Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Ta-Nehisi Coates, Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Water Dancer (2019)

From the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me, a bold debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom.


Short Stories

Mohammed Naseehu Ali, Professor of Creative Writing

The Prophet of Zongo Street by Mohammed Naseehu Ali

The Prophet of Zongo Street (2005)

This collection of stories takes readers to a world that seamlessly blends African folklore and myths with modernity.