James Baldwin: why Beale Street still talks - Financial Times James Baldwin never goes out of fashion. This might seem an enviable attribute... The return of Dorothy West "Little sister” to Zora Neale Hurston. “The Kid” and would-be wife of Langston Hughes... Michael Jackson - New York Review of Books At first, the artist Kehinde Wiley didn’t believe it was Michael Jackson calling... The Heart of the Matter - Harper's Bazaar In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, the writer examines the vital importance of honesty... Facing sadness in the pandemic There is nothing you can tell yourself to make it go away, no positive affirmation... A slice of life in lockdown The Aitken Alexander Isolation Series The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates The classic drama of two brothers with contrasting fates... On my radar interview Diana Evans's cultural highlights in the Observer Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams It’s a thing of joy to witness the everyday within a familiar yet still relatively hidden context... Books for helping with loss There are different kinds of loss – of self, of someone else, of a dream. The legacy of Toni Morrison They were the pre-eminence of a virtual global sisterhood that voiced the collective souls of us girls stranded... Meghan Markle - Time Magazine Person of the Year, 2018 Largehearted Boy playlist notes Music was so much a part of the writing of Ordinary People that the playlist made itself. Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot review - The Guardian It is difficult, virtually impossible, in this time not to read art against a political backdrop. Living without my sister In her absence, my children are accustomed to an incomplete mother. The other mother, the completion, is verbal... New mothers, welcome to a world of guilt - The Guardian It starts at the beginning, with the little seed in the stomach, the seed that asks if it’s OK... Writing on retreat: Hedgebrook I’m standing at a shore across from an island with a suitcase by my side, waiting... Don't Stop The Carnival by Kevin Le Gendre review - Financial Times A meticulous, sweeping and vivid history of black British music. Michael Curry’s royal wedding sermon will go down in history - The Guardian The candle flames were trembling. The pulpit was on fire. The bride and groom were waiting. The One Who Wrote Destiny by Nikesh Shukla - Financial Times It’s not only because my dad was from Keighley that I am attracted to this novel. Happiness by Aminatta Forna review - The Guardian London’s fox population has increased exponentially in recent years, with daytime... Why time isn’t up for Updike “Rabbits and treacle are just not my scene.” So said a fellow writer to me recently... Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch review Last summer the writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch sparked controversy... Diana Evans on the books that shaped her as a writer 26a author Diana Evans on five books that have inspired and intrigued her. Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke Attica Locke’s fourth novel is based on an unusual premise. A black man is found dead... When We Speak of Nothing by Olumide Popoola It’s not often we hear in such exacting articulation the voices of the young... Stay With Me by Ayòbámi Adébáyò review – The Guardian The childless protagonist of Ayòbámi Adébáyò’s Baileys-longlisted debut is so desperate to get pregnant... Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi review Slavery is an open wound: it will never heal. As such it has provided an endless resesrve... Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi review - The Guardian Selasi tells the tale of a family torn apart with glittering poetic command... The Flying Man by Roopa Farooki review - The Guardian There's no justice for the wealthy, well dressed and overeducated in this country... Carlos Acosta: the world at his feet - The Independent When he was a boy, breakdancing and loitering in the streets of Havana...
