The Black Body

What does it mean to have, or to love, a black body? Taking on the challenge of interpreting the black bodys dramatic role in American culture are thirty black, white, and biracial contributors-award-winning actors, artists, writers, and comedians-including voices as varied as President Obamas inaugural poet Elizabeth Alexander, actor and bestselling author Hill Harper, political strategist Kimball Stroud, television producer Joel Lipman, former Saturday Night Live writer Anne Beatts, and singer-songwriter Jason Luckett.

Meri Nana-Ama Danquahs previous work includes the groundbreaking memoir, Willow Weep for Me: A Black Womans Journey Through Depression, and two critically acclaimed anthologies, Becoming American and Shaking the Tree. She earned an MFA in creative writing and literature from Bennington College. She divides her time between Los Angeles, California, and Accra, Ghana.