OF THE DIASPORA
_____

A BOOK SERIES FROM McSWEENEY’S

OF THE DIASPORA is a series of previously published works in Black literature whose themes, settings, characterizations, and conflicts evoke an experience, language, imagery, and power born of the Middle Passage and the particular aesthetic which connects African-derived peoples to a shared artistic and ancestral past. The first novel in the series is Tragic Magic by Wesley Brown, originally published in 1978 and championed by Toni Morrison during her tenure as an editor at Random House. It’s followed by Praisesong for the Widow, a novel by Paule Marshall originally published in 1983 and a recipient of the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award. The third book is a collection of editorial photography by Lester Sloan framed within a conversation with his daughter, Aisha Sabatini Sloan.

The series is edited by Erica Vital-Lazare, a professor of creative writing and marginalized voices in literature at the College of Southern Nevada. Published in collectible hardcover editions with original cover art by Sunra Thompson, the first three works hail from Black American voices defined by what Amiri Baraka described as a strong feeling “getting into new blues, from the old ones.” OF THE DIASPORA—North America will be followed by series from the diasporic communities of Europe, the Caribbean, and Brazil.