Some of today's most imaginative writers consider what it means to
be made and fashioned by others.
It is rare now for people to stay where they were raised, and when we
encounter one another--whether in person or, increasingly, online--it
is usually in contexts that obscure if not outright hide details
about our past. But even in moments of pure self-invention, we are
always shaped by the past. In Ancestors, some of today's most
imaginative writers consider what it means to be made and fashioned
by others. Are we shaped by grandparents, family, the deep past,
political forebears, inherited social and economic circumstances? Can
we choose our family, or is blood always thicker? And looking
forward, what will it mean to be ancestors ourselves, and how will
our descendants remember us?
Contributors:
Bennet Bergman, Sam Bett, Tyree Daye, Diamond Forde, Duana Fullwiley,
José B. González, Racquel Goodison, Terrance Hayes, Day
Heisinger-Nixon, Tyehimba Jess, Christina Knight, Emily Lordi,
Vuyelwa Maluleke, Reginald McKnight, Cheswayo Mphanza, Achal
Prabhala, Domenica Ruta, Metta Sáma, Sonia Sanchez, Izumi Suzuki,
Deborah Taffa, Kyoko Uchida, Ocean Vuong, Binyavanga Wainaina, Yeoh
Jo-Ann, Felicia Zamora