READ Langston Hughes -- "THE WAYS OF WHITE FOLKS"

"The Ways of White Folks" is the best short story book nobody's ever read.

I place this book with some of the greatest collections of all time, including Bernard Malamud's "The Magic Barrel".

Hughes is a master of horror. That's right HORROR not only as reality, but also as genre. (Think Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and Stephen King's "It".)

What sets "The Ways of White Folks" apart is how, even amidst the horror, Hughes never loses his sense of humor. (There's a similar brilliant mischievousness happening in Jordan Peele's cinematic masterpiece, "Get Out".)

When a work of art has this balance between horror, humor, and well-crafted story-telling it can only elevate the politics.

All too often the political art piece -- whether it be a painting, movie, or book -- hits one note and one note only, which in turn softens the "message" and causes us to feel as though we've been shamed into believing something we shouldn't be so stupid NOT to believe.

Read "The Ways of White Folks", not to be shamed or vindicated, but to find truth, not shallow truth, but the truth that settles deep within by way of artistic genius and perfect story telling.

My Favorite stories include:

Home
Little Dog
Cora Unashamed
Berry
Father and Son
Slave on the Block