ABOUT WE CAST A SHADOW. A bold, provocative debut for fans of Get Out and Paul Beatty’s The Sellout, about a father’s obsessive quest to protect his son—even if it means turning him white. “An incisive and necessary work of brilliant satire.”—Roxane Gay “You can be beautiful, even more beautiful than before. We Cast a Shadow NPR coverage of We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin. News, author interviews, critics' picks and more. “ We Cast a Shadow is like a dispatch from the frontlines of the African-American psyche. Written with ruthless intelligence, it’s the story of a father’s love and how he tries to protect his son in a country that devours black lives through violence, incarceration, and poverty. We Cast a Shadow Quotes Showing 1-30 of 41 “I sometimes questioned the plausibility of two people so deeply in love ending up as mortal enemies. Maybe love was just the larval stage of hate, the comely caterpillar in advance of the hideous butterfly.” ― Maurice Carlos Ruffin, We Cast a Shadow.
October 10, 2020 at 7 pm (CT) Mississippi Public Broadcasting; 9 pm (CT) Alabama Public Radio; 3 pm (ET) University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Thursdays 6 pm (CT) University of Mississippi; Fridays 9 am (CT) WYXR Memphis Community Radio
Saturday, October 10, The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour welcomes this year’s John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi, Maurice Carlos Ruffin and his “energetic and acrobatic” novel, We Cast A Shadow. Our musical guests are Memphis Americana songwriter, Amy LaVere and rocking blues brothers, The Kinsey Report.
Hosts: Jim Dees and our house band, the Yalobushwhackers
Air times:
Saturday. October 10 – 7pm (CT) Mississippi Public Broadcasting
9pm (CT) Alabama Public Radio
3 pm (ET) WUTC – University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Thursdays 6 pm (CT) WUMS – University of Mississippi Barcelonnette france.
We Cast A Shadow Goodreads
Fridays 9 am (CT) On air only – WYXR Memphis Community Radio
Featuring
Author
Maurice Carlos Ruffin
The plot of Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s debut novel, We Cast A Shadow (One World Random House) concerns a future world when a procedure is offered to Black citizens that can radically alter their appearance. They can get their lips thinned, their skin bleached, and their nose narrowed. A complete demelanization—if you can afford it.
In this near-future, a Southern city is plagued by fenced-in ghettos and police violence, thus more and more residents are turning to this experimental medical procedure. Like any father, our narrator just wants the best for his son, Nigel, a biracial boy whose black birthmark is getting bigger by the day. The darker Nigel becomes, the more frightened his father feels. But how far will he go to protect his son? And will he destroy his family in the process?
This electrifying, hallucinatory novel is at once a keen satire of surviving racism in America and a profoundly moving family story. The novel is a New York Times Editor’s Choice.
“An incisive and necessary work of brilliant satire.”—Roxane Gay
A New Orleans native, Ruffin is a professor of Creative Writing at Louisiana State University, and the 2020-2021 John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at Ole Miss.
Music
Amy LaVere
Plots map for north dakota. Memphis Americana songwriter Amy LaVere’s latest album, Painting Blue (Nine Mile Records) was produced by her husband-guitarist Will Sexton.
Check out the cool video (with the Barnes Brothers) for Amy’s song, Girlfriends.
“… the subtleness of the album, from LaVere’s lyrics to her muslin-wrapped vocals, are what make this such an interesting record. It’s unpredictable but not in a jarring way. Instead, LaVere has crafted an album with the delightful surprise quotient of an antique store in a town undiscovered by hipsters.” – No Depression
“A richly rewarding album that deals with dark and personal issues.” – Americana UK
Her previous albums include, Halleluiah I’m A Dreamer (2015), Runaway’s Diary (2014 – produced by Luther Dickinson), Stranger Me (2011), Anchors and Anvils (2007 – produced by Jim Dickinson) and This World Is Not My Home (2005).
The Kinsey Report
The Kinsey Report are brothers, vocalist/guitarist Donald, drummer/vocalist Ralph, and bassist/vocalist Kenneth. They are known for their tours and records with their late father, Lester “Big Daddy” Kinsey, as Big Daddy Kinsey and the Kinsey Report. In more recent years, the band has expanded their sound beyond Chicago blues to include reggae, rock, funk, and soul.
Their albums include the EP, I’ll Be Standing.
We Cast A Shadow Characters
A Freethinker's Corner Bookstore Opens in Dover, N.H.
A Freethinker's Corner, a new and used bookstore that opened in Dover, N.H., in August, has expanded its inventory and 'built a growing clientele,' Seacoastonline.com wrote. Owner Chris Upton, who created the store with his wife, Kristen McPhee-Upton, said customers routinely say how glad they are to have a local bookstore in Dover.
We Cast A Shadow Book Club Questions
The pair are aiming to make the store what Chris Upton called 'a place where you can sit, and read and talk about books.' Besides books, A Freethinker's Corner sells greeting cards and displays local art. It also has a room for book clubs, meetings and other functions for up to 25 people. There are plans for paint nights, poetry nights and author events.
Chris Upton retired as an air traffic controller in October at age 48, planning to work in a bookstore in retirement. But then he met with a financial adviser who said, Upton told Wicked Local, ' 'Why don't you own a bookstore instead?' so we sat down and figured out how to make it work.'
On the store's website Chris Upton wrote, 'As a freethinker myself, the name A Freethinker's Corner represents our core goal and philosophy; a place that provides a wide selection of books to encourage intellectual growth, foster reasoned opinions, and stimulate rational conversations and debate. Our motto, 'think.. act.. and be outside the box' refers to being out of the 'social norms' box, allowing for physical, mental, and emotional growth; and the 'big retail' box by investing in local, independent people and businesses, helping our communities grow.
We Cast A Shadow A Novel
'Born, raised, and living in New England, I am fond of what the people and places of New England have to offer. Knowing that local, independent businesses are important to the vitality of our towns, communities and their people, A Freethinker's Corner believes in 'buy local, buy New England.' Here you will find books penned by New England writers, music produced and performed by musicians from around the area, and visual art created by talented local artists. These artists are chosen according to our philosophy of being organic in both quality and creativity.'