Kiese Laymon is a first-time author with two new books out. We have linked to essays by him in the recent past.
Both of these essays (“You are the Second Person” and “The Worst of White Folks”) are included in his new book, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, published last week. In June, Long Division, a time-travel novel that pays homage to Octavia Butler, was released.
At Colorlines and NPR, Laymon discusses his novel and essays, explaining the title of his collection of essays in greater detail and discussing the significance of his work.
I think that, you know, obviously when you don’t care for the health and education of young people or the children of your nation, what you actually are doing is you are killing those people slowly. And what you’re also doing is you’re encouraging them to kill each other slowly – or as you said, you know, maybe even faster.
