Known and Strange Things: Essays

Ablazinglyintelligentfirstbookofessaysfromtheaward-winningauthorofOpenCityandEveryDayIsfortheThiefNAMEDONEOFTHEBESTBOOKSOFTHEYEARBYTime• TheGuardian •Harper'sBazaar•SanFranciscoChronicle•TheAtlantic•FinancialTimes•KirkusFinalistforthePEN/Diamonstein-SpielvogelAwardfortheArtoftheEssayandPEN/JeanSteinBookAwardWiththiscollectionofmorethanfiftypiecesonpolitics,photography,travel,history,andliterature,TejuColesolidifieshisplaceasoneoftoday’smostpowerfulandoriginalvoices.Onpageafterpage,deployingprosedensewithbeautyandideas,hefindsfreshandpotentwaystointerpretart,people,andhistoricalmoments,takinginsubjectsfromVirginiaWoolf,Shakespeare,andW.G.SebaldtoInstagram,BarackObama,andBokoHaram.ColebringsusnewconsiderationsofJamesBaldwinintheageofBlackLivesMatter;theAfricanAmericanphotographerRoyDeCarava,who,forcedtoshootwithfilmcalibratedexclusivelyforwhiteskintones,foundhiswaytoastartlingandtruedepictionofblacksubjects;and(inanessaythatinspiredbothpraiseandpushback whenitfirstappeared)theWhiteSaviorIndustrialComplex,thesystembywhichAfricannationsaresentimentallyaidedbyanAmerica“developedonpillage.”Persuasiveandprovocative,eruditeyetaccessible,KnownandStrangeThingsisanopportunitytolivewithinTejuCole’swide-rangingenthusiasms,curiosities,andpassions,andachancetoseetheworldinsurprisingandaffectingnewframes.PraiseforKnownandStrangeThings“Oneverylevelofengagementandcritique, KnownandStrangeThings isanessentialandscintillatingjourney.”—ClaudiaRankine, TheNewYorkTimesBookReview (Editors’Choice)“Aheadymixofwit,nostalgia,pathos,andagenuinedesiretountangletheworld,orattheleast,tobaskinitsunendingriddles.”—TheAtlantic“Brilliant...[KnownandStrangeThings]revealsCole’sextraordinarytalentandhiscapaciousmind.”—Time“[KnownandStrangeThings]showcasesthemagnificentbreadthofsubjects[Cole]isabletoplumbwith...passionandeloquence.”—Harper’sBazaar“[Coleis]oneofthemostvibrantvoicesincontemporarywriting.”—LATimes“Colehasfulfilledthedazzlingpromiseofhisnovels EveryDayIsfortheThief and OpenCity.Herangesoverhisinterestswithvoraciouskeenness,laser-sharpprose,anopenheartandacleareye.”—TheGuardian“Remarkablyprobingessays...Coleisoneofonlyaveryfewlavishinghisfocusedattentiononthatmostapproachable(andperhapsthereforemostoverlooked)artform,photography.”—ChicagoTribune“There’salmostnosubjectColecan’tcomeatfromastartlingangle....His[isa]prickly,eclectic,roamingmind.”—TheBostonGlobe“[Cole]bringsasubtle,layeredperspectivetoallheencounters.”—VanityFair“Inpageafterpage,Coleupholdsthesterlingvirtueofgoodwritingcombinedwithemotionalandintellectualengagement.”—TheNewStatesman“[KnownandStrangeThings possesses]apassionforjustice,adeepsympathyforthepoorandthepowerlessaroundtheworld,andafierymoraloutrage.”—PoetsandWriters