Julian Lucas

As an elaborate literary prank. So you wrote it in 2001 at the height of the vogue for urban lit. Do you think the story still has the same resonance in our post Black Lives Matter era when at least for a moment a lot more attention was given to African American literature?

As an elaborate literary prank. So you wrote it in 2001 at the height of the vogue for urban lit. Do you think the story still has the same resonance in our post Black Lives Matter era when at least for a moment a lot more attention was given to African American literature?

You know, I was rereading Huck Finn for this, and it just struck me how wildly contemporary it still feels. You know, like Huck's abusive father sounds like a MAGA voter. He's so angry that he saw a rich black man voting that he wants to overthrow the government. And I wonder if it was...

You know, I was rereading Huck Finn for this, and it just struck me how wildly contemporary it still feels. You know, like Huck's abusive father sounds like a MAGA voter. He's so angry that he saw a rich black man voting that he wants to overthrow the government. And I wonder if it was...

You know, I was rereading Huck Finn for this, and it just struck me how wildly contemporary it still feels. You know, like Huck's abusive father sounds like a MAGA voter. He's so angry that he saw a rich black man voting that he wants to overthrow the government. And I wonder if it was...

Anything in what's going on in this country today that brought you back to the text and got you thinking about a story from Jim's perspective?

Anything in what's going on in this country today that brought you back to the text and got you thinking about a story from Jim's perspective?

Anything in what's going on in this country today that brought you back to the text and got you thinking about a story from Jim's perspective?

Exactly. And Huck's flight from home, his own kind of search for adventure is the emphasis in Twain. And yet there's a much higher stakes story going on for Jim because this runaway, it's a matter of life and death for him, even though it's more a matter of death. adventure and hijinks for Huck. So it's one thing to really love a writer as you love Twain.

Exactly. And Huck's flight from home, his own kind of search for adventure is the emphasis in Twain. And yet there's a much higher stakes story going on for Jim because this runaway, it's a matter of life and death for him, even though it's more a matter of death. adventure and hijinks for Huck. So it's one thing to really love a writer as you love Twain.

Exactly. And Huck's flight from home, his own kind of search for adventure is the emphasis in Twain. And yet there's a much higher stakes story going on for Jim because this runaway, it's a matter of life and death for him, even though it's more a matter of death. adventure and hijinks for Huck. So it's one thing to really love a writer as you love Twain.

And it's another to actually try to rewrite their most famous book. And I wonder, was there like a particular moment in the book that you realized Jim had more to say than Twain lets him? Or was it more, you know, this would be a great way to sneak onto the high school English syllabi?

And it's another to actually try to rewrite their most famous book. And I wonder, was there like a particular moment in the book that you realized Jim had more to say than Twain lets him? Or was it more, you know, this would be a great way to sneak onto the high school English syllabi?

And it's another to actually try to rewrite their most famous book. And I wonder, was there like a particular moment in the book that you realized Jim had more to say than Twain lets him? Or was it more, you know, this would be a great way to sneak onto the high school English syllabi?

Something I've always found so ironic about Huckleberry Finn is it's recurrently targeted by well-meaning anti-racists to either be redacted, to remove the N-word from it, or to cut it from syllabi entirely. And yet, there are few novels that have been more championed by the greatest African-American writers. It was so huge for Toni Morrison and Ralph Ellison and...

Something I've always found so ironic about Huckleberry Finn is it's recurrently targeted by well-meaning anti-racists to either be redacted, to remove the N-word from it, or to cut it from syllabi entirely. And yet, there are few novels that have been more championed by the greatest African-American writers. It was so huge for Toni Morrison and Ralph Ellison and...

Something I've always found so ironic about Huckleberry Finn is it's recurrently targeted by well-meaning anti-racists to either be redacted, to remove the N-word from it, or to cut it from syllabi entirely. And yet, there are few novels that have been more championed by the greatest African-American writers. It was so huge for Toni Morrison and Ralph Ellison and...

Ishmael Reed recently wrote an essay, which is just a kind of...

Ishmael Reed recently wrote an essay, which is just a kind of...

Ishmael Reed recently wrote an essay, which is just a kind of...