Ta-Nehisi Coates
Born in Baltimore Maryland Ta-Nehisi Coates was one of seven children, his mother is a teacher, and his father is a publisher who founded and ran the Black Classic Press, he spent his childhood close to his father. Coates is a dropout of Howard University, the only one out of seven children not to graduate from college. He became a father at 24 with his wife Kenyatta Matthews, having their only son named Samori Maceo-Paul Coates, which he later dedicated his book Between the World and Me to.
The fiction novel The Water Dancer introduces the reader to a setting of a pre-civil war south, and a young man named Hiram who is enslaved and ends up getting involved in the Underground Railroad. Hiram's mother had been sold away and early in the book and he lacks any memory of her, he was given a power of some sort and ended up having photographic memory, a superhuman of some sort. Later in the story he has a brush with death when his power ends up saving his life, thats when he realizes he needs to escape from his 'Home'. That began his journey to travel and find a way to rescue his family. He learns after his near death experience that he has the power of conduction, caused by his powerful memories and allows him to travel unusual distances in a short period of time. He escapes to Philadelphia and eventually meets a famous member of the Underground Railroad named Moses who he discovers also has the power of conduction. By the end of the story he learns to control his power and finds a shell necklace that contains the memories of his mother.
Born in Baltimore Maryland Ta-Nehisi Coates was one of seven children, his mother is a teacher, and his father is a publisher who founded and ran the Black Classic Press, he spent his childhood close to his father. Coates is a dropout of Howard University, the only one out of seven children not to graduate from college. He became a father at 24 with his wife Kenyatta Matthews, having their only son named Samori Maceo-Paul Coates, which he later dedicated his book Between the World and Me to.
The fiction novel The Water Dancer introduces the reader to a setting of a pre-civil war south, and a young man named Hiram who is enslaved and ends up getting involved in the Underground Railroad. Hiram's mother had been sold away and early in the book and he lacks any memory of her, he was given a power of some sort and ended up having photographic memory, a superhuman of some sort. Later in the story he has a brush with death when his power ends up saving his life, thats when he realizes he needs to escape from his 'Home'. That began his journey to travel and find a way to rescue his family. He learns after his near death experience that he has the power of conduction, caused by his powerful memories and allows him to travel unusual distances in a short period of time. He escapes to Philadelphia and eventually meets a famous member of the Underground Railroad named Moses who he discovers also has the power of conduction. By the end of the story he learns to control his power and finds a shell necklace that contains the memories of his mother.The New York Times published a review on The Water Dancer titled 'The Water Dancer' Ta-Nehisi Coates Makes His Fiction Debut written by Dwight Garner which states "“The Water Dancer” is a jeroboam of a book, a crowd-pleasing exercise in breakneck and often occult storytelling that tonally resembles the work of Stephen King as much as it does the work of Toni Morrison, Colson Whitehead and the touchstone African-American science-fiction writer Octavia Butler." (1) They're comparing Coates's work to several remarkable writers written all into one novel, showing how truly excellent his work is.
The Washington Post published a review on The Water Dancer titled "In Ta-Nehisi Coates's 'The Water Dancer', a slave makes a superhero's journey" written by Ron Charles which states "Instead, Coates’s fantastical elements are deeply integral to his novel, a way of representing something larger and more profound than the confines of realism could contain ... Despite his extraordinary skill as a modern-day social critic, Coates never intrudes on the stately, slightly antique voice of his narrator. But his understanding of modern-day racism illuminates this portrayal of the 19th century, and it’s not difficult to hear the contemporary echoes of Hiram’s observations"(2) He's choosing to touch on the subject of racism, character voice, and fantasy elements significantly more than the New York Times writer did stating that everything including the superhuman fiction aspects which he states are done impressively well.
My reflection on Coates and his work is, even without a college education he still was able to achieve something many writers can't, New York Times compared him to some very well known and famous writers. He takes pride in his background, and really expresses it in his writing allowing the reader to experience a life significantly different than their own. Coates also writes a variety of things from his own blogs, poetry, comics, fiction, and nonfiction writing, he covers a significant amount of different types of writing and excels in all areas according to online reviews. Reading some of his blogs he reflects on his own accomplishments, failures, works, and family throughout many critiquing and sharing his own personal life.
Work Cited-
(1)-Garner, Dwight. “With ‘The Water Dancer,’ Ta-Nehisi Coates Makes His Fiction Debut.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Sept. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/books/review-water-dancer-ta-nehisi-coates.html.
(2)-Charles, Ron. “Review | in Ta-Nehisi Coates’s ‘The Water Dancer,’ a Slave ...” The Water Dancer’, a Slave Makes a Superhero’s Journey, 23 Sept. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/in-ta-nehisi-coatess-the-water-dancer-a-slave-takes-a-magical-journey/2019/09/23/557202f2-ddf7-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html.
Comments
Post a Comment