A Village Voice Literary Supplement Best Book of the Year, this “treasure chest of essays about the relationship of writing to cultural politics” (Utne Reader) celebrates a myriad of voices and histories. Grappling with dilemmas of cultural identity, sexual politics, and systems of oppression, these writers speak with humor, outrage, irony, and faith. Their stories are urgent, their passions direct. They provide us with a more generous sense of geography and a more compassionate sense of justice.


With contributions by: Chinua Achebe Ama Ata Aidoo Claribel Alegria Hilton Als Margaret Atwood James Baldwin Harold A. Bascom Homi K. Bhabha Angela Carter Ana Castillo Michelle Cliff Alicia Dujovne Ortiz Nawal El Saadawi Eduardo Galeano Augustin Gómez-Arcos Nadine Gordimer Jessica Hagedorn Bessie Head bell hooks Gary Indiana Arturo Islas Jamaica Kincaid Maxine Hong Kingston Patrick McGrath Walter Mosley Bharati Mukherjee Abdelrahman Munif Lauretta Ngcobo Elena Poniatowska Salman Rushdie Sarah Schulman Anton Shammas Alix Kates Shulman Leslie Marmo Silko Lynne Tillman Luisa Valenzuela Michele Wallace Zoë Wicomb Christa Wolk


Discussions in Contemporary Culture is an award-winning series co-published with the Dia Center for the Arts in New York City. These volumes offer rich and timely discourses on a broad range of cultural issues and critical theory. The collection covers topics from urban planning to popular culture and literature, and continually attracts a wide and dedicated readership.