''Ordinary Notes'' is a book by
Christina Sharpe
Christina Elizabeth Sharpe is an American academic who is a professor of English literature and Black Studies at York University in Toronto, Canada.
Education
Sharpe received a bachelor's degree in English and Africana studies from the Univer ...
, published in April 2023 by
Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The book is a collection of 248 notes about black life. It was shortlisted for the 2023
National Book Award for Nonfiction.
The book received positive reviews by writers for ''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'', ''
The New York Times'', and others. Sharpe previously published ''In the Wake: On Blackness and Being'' in 2016, and as of 2023, she is the chair of
black studies at
York University.
Contents
Among its 248 notes are recollections of the presidency of
Barack Obama; a discussion of Obama's response to the
Charleston church shooting
On June 17, 2015, a mass shooting occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine African Americans were killed during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Among those people who were killed was the senior past ...
; an anecdote at the
National Memorial for Peace and Justice; a discussion of
Roland Barthes's ''
Camera Lucida
A ''camera lucida'' is an optical device used as a drawing aid by artists and microscopists.
The ''camera lucida'' performs an optical superimposition of the subject being viewed upon the surface upon which the artist is drawing. The artist se ...
''; and an analysis of a character in
Toni Morrison's ''
Beloved
Beloved may refer to:
Books
* ''Beloved'' (novel), a 1987 novel by Toni Morrison
* ''The Beloved'' (Faulkner novel), a 2012 novel by Australian author Annah Faulkner
*''Beloved'', a 1993 historical romance about Zenobia, by Bertrice Small
Film
...
''.
Reception
The book received a positive review by Brendan Buck in ''
Newcity
Newcity is a media company based in Chicago, founded in 1986 by Brian and Jan Hieggelke." It started as the ''Newcity'' independent, free weekly newspaper in Chicago. Effective March 2017, the founders changed the newspaper into a glossy monthly ...
'', who praised Sharpe's writing as "not just personal or academic" but using an "inventive form" to discuss personal, academic, historical, and other facets of black identity. ''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' praised Sharpe's writing as "exquisitely original" and "artistry", while
Jennifer Szalai
Jennifer Szalai is the nonfiction critic at ''The New York Times''. Szalai was born in Canada and attended the University of Toronto, studying political science and peace and conflict. She also holds a master's degree in international relations fro ...
, writing for ''
The New York Times'' views her collection of notes "as a rejoinder" to popular conceptions to black life. A review by
CBC Books labeled the book "a singular achievement" in writing about "the ordinary-extraordinary dimensions of Black life".
''Kirkus Reviews'' ultimately named ''Ordinary Notes'' one of the best non-fiction books of 2023.
References
Citations
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
{{refend
2023 non-fiction books
Literature by African-American women
Works about race and ethnicity