When I Say That Loving Me Is Kind Of Like Being A Chicago Bulls Fan Hanif Abdurraqib
what I mean is that my father can tell a bunch of cool stories about back in the day when I was truly great. there is a mountain of gold that has gathered dust in the corner where I used to sleep, and look at all of these pictures. in this one, I am wearing rainbow shorts and hurling rocks at a shoreline. in this one, I am smiling in the glow of 13 lit candles pushed into a sheet of dark sugar. you may ask why I allow my face to drown in less and less joy with each passing year and I will say I just woke up one day and I was a still photo in everyone else’s home but my own. or I will say I promise that my legs just need another season, and then I will be who you fell in love with again. and then I will probably just say I’m sorry that there was once a tremendous blue sky and then a decade of hard, incessant rain.
“I don’t know if I believe in rage as something always acting in opposition to tenderness. I believe, more often, in the two as braided together. Two elements of trying to survive in a world once you have an understanding of that world’s capacity for violence.”
— Hanif Abdurraqib, from “Board Up the Doors, Tear Down the Walls,” in A Little Devil in America (viafirstfullmoon)
Our November/December issue is here! Inside, you’ll find interviews with Anthony Doerr and Hanif Abdurraqib; Victoria Chang’s reflections on creative struggle; our sixth annual #5Over50 roundup of debut authors; and more. at.pw.org/NovDec2021
Repping the Midwest with Author and Educator @nifmuhammad
Throughout #BlackHistoryMonth, celebrated during February in the United States and Canada, we’re highlighting next-generation creatives of color who are shaping the future of their communities. Each of the featured accounts was selected by writer, curator and activist Kimberly Drew (@museummammy).
“Hanif Abdurraqib (@nifmuhammad) is a deeply talented writer and educator, representing as a beacon of hope, dedicated to championing black culture, authenticity and the written word,” says Kimberly of Hanif. “Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, he reps the Midwest in everything that he does, constantly interrogating notions of home in his work. As conversations about gentrification in the US loom large, Hanif is able to bring new, personal perspectives through his poetry. He has a great sense of humor while remaining committed to telling the truth. As an educator, he shared with me that he encourages his students to write about the music that makes them feel most seen, and that sometimes he’ll get essays or poems about [American hip-hop group] Migos. That’s the future I want to live in.”
hanif abdurraqib it is once again the summer of my discontent and this is how we do it\ erté (romain de tirtoff) abondance [“plenty”] (1979) \ joy harjo conflict resolution for holy beings: “this morning i pray for my enemies” \ hilary faye calls to the clouds \peaky blinders s1e6 \ magnus gjoen no time to grieve for roses when forests are burning \ camille rankine
