They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib

8 Jun 2024

Treasure trove of delightful provocations with as equally delighful prose. Abdurraqib who knows their way around the pen in a way I’ll be screaming at a part because of the nimble and restless intelligence of an emotional dig, and crying at the next, put simply, because of the beauty of its syntax.

Particularly love the way Abdurraqib invites the reader into looking back at “off-beat” moments in music and mainstream pop culture and view them in a kaleidoscopically different lens, that you appreciate them just that bit more.

A book with lines you savour, cherish and let echo.

“It is a luxury to be able to tear your gaze away from something; to only be made aware of old and consistent blood by newer shedding of blood. It is a luxury to see some violence as terror and some violence as necessary. It is a luxury to be unafraid and analyse the very real fear of others.”

Nonfiction Essays Race