What’s On My Mind (and My Reading List) — April 2025
Grappling with the Pinnacles of English Theater and African-American Literature
Those monitoring this feed these past two months will note that this is the third back-to-back month with a new entry in our What’s On My Mind (and My Reading List) series. This is reflective not only of the amount of research I’m balancing at this present moment but also the volume of books that I’ve been able to read since the new year began.
But even with all of the latest releases that I’m deeply looking forward to, what has fully captivated my attention as of late has been Twentieth-Century African American literature, Shakespeare-era English theater, or—as indicated by last month’s entry—every combination in between.
While I continue to recover my literary voice for my book research, here are the books that will have my full interest from now until the end of May 2025.
Shakespearean Theater
My recent push towards reading dramas and plays has prompted me to re-engage with the work of William Shakespeare. Much like some of you reading this list, I have not actively interacted with Shakespeare since my formal education years. For some of you, this may have been high school or college. Maybe you haven’t had the opportunity to read Shakespeare in school and are too intimidated to get started. I’ve decided to give English’s greatest writer, poet, and playwright another shot.
I am currently reading Shakespeare’s tragedies, alongside a friend of mine with a graduate degree in literary studies. Our current reading program has us reading the primary text of a given play before meeting up to watch the various adaptations, on stage and or in film.
I’m reading the plays alongside the following companion texts published by Cambridge University and Blackwell Publishing. With the exception of my copy of Othello, I am reading the primary Shakespeare texts provided by W. W. Norton & Company.
Julius Caesar: A Norton Critical Edition by William Shakespeare (edited by S. P. Cerasano)
Othello by William Shakespeare (edited by Daniel Vitkus)
The Norton Shakespeare: Third Edition edited by Stephen Greenblatt et. al
The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare edited by Margreta de Grazia & Stanley Wells
The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare by Emma Smith
The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare’s Tragedies by Janette Dillon
The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare’s History Plays by Warren Chernaik
The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare’s Comedies by Penny Gay
A Companion to Shakespeare edited by David Scott Kastan
African American Literature
I have been actively grappling with the works of the Twentieth Century’s great African-American writers, literary minds, and social activists for the past couple of months. This practice occurs routinely around this time of the year as I prepare to visit some of the United States’s civil rights landmarks in the summer.
If you have read my reading list of books for this current moment, you will know that I am still grappling with the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., his dream, his legacy, and how the country has both lived up to and failed to uphold the vision he had for the United States as the country approaches its 250th anniversary.
I’ve also made short work of the collected essays of writers like W. E. B. Du Bois, Bayard Rustin, Ralph Ellison, and Frederick Douglass. By the time you read this, I may well have finished a number of these books. These texts have enriched my mind and given me answers to questions I have been pondering over the last couple of years. I hope to share the lessons I find with all of you soon.
A Testament of Hope by Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by James M. Washington)
The Radical King by Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by Cornel West)
To Shape a New World: Essays on the Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr. edited by Tommie Shelby and Brandon M. Terry
Time on Two Crosses: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin edited by Devon W. Carbado and Donald Weise
I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin’s Life in Letters edited by Michael G. Long
Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics edited by Michael G. Long
The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois: Writings edited by Nathan Huggins
The Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison edited by John F. Callahan
The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison edited by John F. Callahan
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
Selected Writings and Speeches of Marcus Garvey edited by Bob Blaisdell
Happy reading!
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