Happy Publication day to these 9 gems!

 Essentials – David Whyte @davidjwhyte 
Idol, Burning – Rin Usami (translation by Asa Yoneda) 
 Losing the Plot - @derekowusuwrites Straight Life – Art & Laurie Pepper 
Blues People – Leroi Jones (Amiri Baraka) 
 Forever Words – Johnny Cash 
The Fugitives – Jamal Mahjoub @Parker_Bilal Look For Me & I’ll be Gone – John Edgar Wideman The Heart of Things – Richard Holloway

 What a stack of brilliant books! All available at your favourite local bookshop & online, link in the bio Essentials is a collection of David Whyte’s best poetry, and a deep dive into the significance that each poem holds

 Idol, Burning follows the life of high-schooler Akari and her addiction to fandom – obsessed with her oshi, a singer in a Japanese pop group, her life starts to come apart after rumours of him assaulting a female fan sprout on social media.

 


Driven by a deep-seated desire to understand his mother’s life before he was born, Derek Owusu delivers a powerful imagining of her journey & the effects of displacement over generations One of the great alto-saxophonists, Art Pepper led a chequered life, Straight Life (originally narrated on tape by Laurie Pepper), chronicles both his work and his life, dealing with alcoholism, heroin addiction, armed robberies & imprisonment

 Penned by the iconic beat writer & critic, Blues People is an essential & impassioned text which intertwines the development of blues & jazz with the history of its creators in ‘White America’ – as timely as it was when published in 1963 Collecting lyrics & poetry from his star-studded career, Forever Words lets us see the world through the eyes of the legendary Johnny Cash – his frailties and strengths alike. Moving from Khartoum, Sudan to Washington, D.C., The Fugitives is an extraordinary road trip unlike any other, following the rebirth of a legendary Sudanese jazz band – it’s a novel alive with friendship, belonging and love
 In Look For Me & I’ll be Gone John Edgar Wideman demonstrates his mastery of language in an essential collection for anyone looking to understand the state of America today. #ReadCanongate #PublicationDay #Bookstagram #instabook