Counternarratives Wins an American Book Award

I am elated to announce that Counternarratives has received a 2016 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation (BCF).  When I remember this book's long journey to publication, and meditate on the aims of this vitally important literary and cultural organization and all the books and authors it has honored in the past, including my MFA colleague, poet, memoirist, fiction writer, and critic Rigoberto González, I consider this be one of the highest honors possible.

Congratulations also go to all of this year's other recipients, and an especial congrats to two other honorees affiliated with Rutgers-Newark: my colleague Lyra Monteiro, an assistant professor of history, who received the Walter and Lillian Lowenfels Prize for Criticism for her essay on the play Hamilton, and journalist Nick Turse, author of Tomorrow's Battlefield: US Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa (Haymarket Books), who received an MA in history from RU-N in 1999. 

About the three of us, BCF chairman Justin Desmangles said:

“We are proud to honor the work of John Keene, whom we regard as among the most innovative and exciting writers in America today. The richness and fertility of his imagination coupled with the elegance of his prose produce a unique literary experience. In addition, we consider Lyra Montiero's critical perspectives to be both vital and courageous. Her rigorous, inventive, and powerfully deciphering analysis of “Hamilton,” the musical, was a much-needed antidote to the toxic commercial hyperbole. Finally, Nick Turse's efforts to expose secret U.S. military operations in Africa should be regarded as heroic. At BCF, we consider Turse to be in the tradition of the greatest journalists, penetrating the subterfuge and excavating information and perspectives otherwise missing or ignored.

Below is the official announcement from the Before Columbus Foundation.

Again, many thanks to them, and to everyone who helped make this book possible!

My HuffPost Live Segment on *Hamilton*

As far as I can remember, I've never participated on a live online discussion before, but that changed yesterday when I appeared on HuffPost Live's daily segment to discuss Lin-Manuel Miranda's remarkable new Broadway biomusical Hamilton: An American Musical, which currently is playing at the Richard Rogers Theater.

The segment host

A HuffPost producer, Felicia Kelley, had read my VICE review--praise song--of the musical, and invited me to join several veteran theater critics--Jesse Green, senior theater critic for New York Magazine; Suzie Evans, senior editor at American Theater; and journalist and playwright Michelle Williams in discussing why Miranda's creation is so popular and important. We connected on Google Hangout, which I've heard people mention before, but this was the first time I'd ever used it, and I highly recommend its simplicity and functionality.

The set-up in my office

I was extremely nervous, though, and despite the fact that we'd been prepped a bit about the direction of the conversation, we had no idea what questions the segment host, Caroline Modaressy-Tehrani, would ask. It also was live and unedited, so what we said was exactly what viewers saw and heard. I think I acquitted myself decently under the circumstances, and did remember to mention US history, immigration, race and casting, the musical's relevance in relation to the current presidential campaign, and the fact that it includes multiple styles of hip hop, including beat box, chopper and freestyle moments. Otherwise, it was a blur, but a fun one, and I loved hearing what the theater critics had to say about Miranda's masterpiece.

A few hours after that I gave an evening reading at the university, without a hint of nerves. I'll be posting on that tomorrow. Enjoy the discussion, and above all, if you can, go see Hamilton!

My screen grab during the conversation