ICYMI: The Last Week in Black Writing and Culture (7/23-7/29)

Writer James Alan McPherson, the first African American writer to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction, passed away at the age of 72. In his career, McPherson was also awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and was named a MacArthur Fellow.

Diane Patrick of Publisher's Weekly looked into Colson Whitehead's upcoming novel The Underground Railroad, to be released in September, 2016.

The Guardian published the Man Booker Prize longlist for 2016. June Eric Udorie spoke about how the longlist was a disappointment for diversity. 

Dr. Howard Rambsy recently wrote on African and African American tensions in his review of Yaa Gyasi's debut novel Homegoing. Fulbright scholar Portia Owusu responded with her own review of Homegoing.

Novelist and poet Chris Abani spoke about his work and about how the middle-class view of Africa is problematic. 

Check out these amazing works of art by Camilla Perkins. Recognizing the under-representation of African subcultures in illustrations, Perkins began creating her own in an effort to illuminate the many beautiful facets of African culture.