Jaded, My Tummy

Arguably one of the greatest writers of our generation, Ta-Nehisi Coates recently tweeted this statement:

Ok. So I'm gonna take the year to try my hand at this fancy book writin' stuff. See y'all in '18. Take us out, Queen... pic.twitter.com/kLISnrMJE9

— Ta-Nehisi Coates (@tanehisicoates) January 2, 2017

Exciting! Does this mean we could be getting another book within the next year or so from the author of the brilliant Between the World and Me (2015)? There has not been any other book in recent memory that I can enjoy each and every single time from re-reading random passages. In the form of a letter to his only son, the book can be difficult to go back and navigate after reading it. But when I do, I get lost, engulfed in his prose — the beautifully crafted, poignant, assured, politically exigent, intellectually biting, bold prose. I don’t need to make the lofty comparison to that great American writer, because another one, Toni Morrison, ever the authority, does so for me and for us, unequivocally: “I’ve been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates.”

So, I’m obviously stoked and eager for his next project. But I have to admit, the quasi-announcement is bittersweet. Is he also taking a hiatus from his journalist exploits at The Atlantic? No more public or online engagements, period, for the time being? Considering the times and the inevitable march of the racist onslaught we are about to undertake in the form of Donald Trump & co., we desperately need (or I selfishly want….I admit it) Coates’ fearless analyses and reporting. However, given his love-hate relationship with the Internet, Twitter specifically, I definitely understand: to get away from the (literal) white noise, the racist cacophony, the burden of being a leading journalistic voice for black America might critically aid in producing his best work to date.

So, most def, I can’t wait.