Synopses & Reviews
A revised
collection with thirteen essays, including six new to this edition and seven from the original edition,
by the "star in the American literary firmament, with a voice that is
courageous, honest, loving, and singularly beautiful" (NPR).
Brilliant and uncompromising, piercing and funny,
How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America is essential reading. This new
edition of award-winning author Kiese Laymon's first work of
nonfiction looks inward, drawing heavily on the author and his family's
experiences, while simultaneously examining the world — Mississippi, the
South, the United States — that has shaped their lives. With subjects
that range from an interview with his mother to reflections on Ole Miss
football, Outkast, and the labor of Black women, these thirteen
insightful essays highlight Laymon's profound love of language and his
artful rendering of experience, trumpeting why he is "simply one of the
most talented writers in America" (New York magazine).
Review
"I first encountered Kiese Laymon's writing when I read
How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America. I was stunned into stillness."
Roxane Gay, author of
Bad Feminist
Review
"...simply one of the most talented writers in America" New York magazine
Review
"[Laymon is a] star in the American literary firmament, with a voice that is courageous, honest, loving, and singularly beautiful" NPR
Synopsis
A revised collection with thirteen essays, including six new to this edition and seven from the original edition, by the "star in the American literary firmament, with a voice that is courageous, honest, loving, and singularly beautiful" (NPR). Brilliant and uncompromising, piercing and funny, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America is essential reading. This new edition of award-winning author Kiese Laymon's first work of nonfiction looks inward, drawing heavily on the author and his family's experiences, while simultaneously examining the world--Mississippi, the South, the United States--that has shaped their lives. With subjects that range from an interview with his mother to reflections on Ole Miss football, Outkast, and the labor of Black women, these thirteen insightful essays highlight Laymon's profound love of language and his artful rendering of experience, trumpeting why he is "simply one of the most talented writers in America" (New York magazine).
About the Author
Born and raised in Jackson,
Mississippi, Kiese Laymon, Ottilie Schillig Professor in English and
Creative Writing and the University of Mississippi, is the author of the
novel
Long Division and the memoir
Heavy.