So if you know me you know that Hanif Abdurraqib is one of my favorite writers. I mean, he’s informed so much of my style and approach to writing. I walked around with THEY CAN’T KILL US UNTIL THEY KILL US for a solid year. You couldn’t tell me there was any other book on the face of the earth worth clinging onto like that. That Ric Flair essay? Man. Anyway, lemme stop being a Stan for a moment to tell you what I came here to tell you. Well, two things.
One, Hanif recently won a MacArthur Genius grant. That comes as no surprise to people who know his work, and it’s greatly deserved, and I’m happy as hell for him.
Two, I recently did a reading of ARE YOU BORG NOW? for Writers & Books, and Hanif asked me a bunch of questions afterwards. Well, it was more like a conversation than a Q&A. It felt natural, and real — especially when we started talking about Ramadan productivity and how no one ever actually maintains that level of POWER after the blessed month is over. But I guess we’re all human, huh? Whatever, anyway, etcetera.
Without further to-do (ado? hullabaloo? 22 skidoo?), here’s the video of my reading/conversation with Hanif. If you haven’t already done so, GO BUY MY BOOK, YOU HATER! https://rlysrslit.bigcartel.com/product/are-you-borg-now-said-shaiye