Hanif Abdurraqib will likely go down in history as one of our generation's greatest writers.

In A Little Devil in America, he masterfully connects threads of culture and personal experience to craft a work that is all at once critical, reflective, nostalgic, and beautiful. He writes with such love and passion that, even if you can't relate to his experience or are unfamiliar with the material, you can find a common thread of understanding because of his ability to target specific emotions, feelings, and memories.

I was constantly amazed at his ability to shift the lens of focus from personal, to cultural, to political, zooming in and out of vignettes of Black history that have either been forgotten or never had their time in the cultural zeitgeist to begin with. His essays are so well crafted, always giving the right amount of information, personal interpretation, and yet always leaving enough space for the reader to really sink into the experience and reflect.

He's also created such a uniquely immersive experience by pinpointing certain songs, albums, or performances. There are plenty of opportunities to stop reading, watch or listen to the moment being discussed, and come back to the writing to experience the impact in real time. This sort of interactivity is rare and almost upgrades the reading experience to something beyond "just reading".

And, it should go without saying that Abdurraqib's writing is poetic and profoundly moving. His ability to capture emotions in metaphor and analogy is seriously unmatched. If you have the time, listen to his poem "And What Good Will Your Vanity Be When the Rapture Comes".