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Roxane Gay

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Roxane Gay

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Roxane Gay’s writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times bestselling Bad Feminist, the nationally bestselling Difficult Women and the New York Times bestselling Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. She has several books forthcoming and is also at work on television and film projects. Her newsletter, The Audacity, where she also hosts The Audacious Book Club, can be found at audacity.substack. ...more

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Roxane Gay I will send Channing Tatum a whole lot more than that.
Roxane Gay I live in the middle of nowhere, I don't have children, I'm an insomniac, I love writing, I'm motivated, writing is often self-medication. …moreI live in the middle of nowhere, I don't have children, I'm an insomniac, I love writing, I'm motivated, writing is often self-medication. (less)
Average rating: 4.05 · 354,089 ratings · 41,523 reviews · 127 distinct worksSimilar authors
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

4.17 avg rating — 119,738 ratings — published 2017 — 73 editions
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Bad Feminist

3.92 avg rating — 118,254 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions
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Difficult Women

3.95 avg rating — 30,146 ratings — published 2017 — 30 editions
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Not That Bad: Dispatches fr...

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4.43 avg rating — 22,516 ratings — published 2018 — 29 editions
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An Untamed State

4.07 avg rating — 19,644 ratings — published 2014 — 30 editions
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Ayiti

4.26 avg rating — 8,188 ratings — published 2011 — 14 editions
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Graceful Burdens

4.04 avg rating — 5,504 ratings — published 2020 — 4 editions
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Opinions: A Decade of Argum...

3.99 avg rating — 3,830 ratings — published 2023 — 12 editions
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Black Panther: World of Wak...

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3.75 avg rating — 3,005 ratings — published 2017 — 6 editions
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The Best American Short Sto...

3.98 avg rating — 2,041 ratings — published 2018 — 5 editions
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Discipline by Larissa Pham
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It is lovely to see Larissa Pham blessing us with a novel. Like her nonfiction, the prose in Discipline is both lush and precise. There is a satisfying interiority to this novel and a fascinating structure as Christine goes on a book tour for her deb ...more
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King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby
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S.A. Cosby never disappoints. When I tell you I was SAT! This book is fast-paced, gripping, relentless, and ruthless. I love the family saga energy and seeing Roman get more and more comfortable with going to any lengths to protect his family. There ...more
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Moderation by Elaine Castillo
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Elaine Castillo is always a pleasure to read and her dense, deeply satisfying prose is so easy to lose yourself in. I love how Moderation, Castillo's sophomore novel, tells a compelling story, and plays with genre. It is the story of what it means to ...more
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Resting Bitch Face by Taylor Byas
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These are incredibly sharp poems by a poet with a real skill with using form to excellent ends. The depth of care, research, and precision that has been poured into the work is admirable. There is a haunting undercurrent throughout the collection abo ...more
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Resting Bitch Face by Taylor Byas
Resting Bitch Face: Poems
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These are incredibly sharp poems by a poet with a real skill with using form to excellent ends. The depth of care, research, and precision that has been poured into the work is admirable. There is a haunting undercurrent throughout the collection abo ...more
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The Long Con by Jenna Voris
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Discipline by Larissa Pham
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It is lovely to see Larissa Pham blessing us with a novel. Like her nonfiction, the prose in Discipline is both lush and precise. There is a satisfying interiority to this novel and a fascinating structure as Christine goes on a book tour for her deb ...more
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Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Black Flame
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Black Flame is this genre at it's best, forcing us to confront the horrors of humanity through an elegantly written, deeply visceral and haunting story. That it takes a horror-filled exploitation film for Ellen Kramer, the protagonist, to confront al ...more
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A Suit or a Suitcase by Maggie  Smith
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A Suit or a Suitcase is a really confident, satisfying collection of poems. Not a word or idea is out of place and the title poem is a real standout.
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Archive of Desire by Robin Coste Lewis
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A lush book-length poem in four parts that channels,
In part, Constantin Cavafy but then becomes its own wondrous thing. An archive of desire, indeed.
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Quotes by Roxane Gay  (?)
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“I embrace the label of bad feminist because I am human. I am messy. I’m not trying to be an example. I am not trying to be perfect. I am not trying to say I have all the answers. I am not trying to say I’m right. I am just trying—trying to support what I believe in, trying to do some good in this world, trying to make some noise with my writing while also being myself.”
Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist

“I believe feminism is grounded in supporting the choices of women even if we wouldn’t make certain choices for ourselves.”
Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist: Essays

“It’s hard to be told to lighten up because if you lighten up any more, you’re going to float the fuck away.”
Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist: Essays

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“There is no reason for you to try to become like white people and there is no basis whatever for their impertinent assumption that they must accept you. The terrible thing, old buddy, is that you must accept them. And I mean that very seriously. You must accept them and accept them with love. For these innocent people have no other hope. They are, in effect, still trapped in a history which they do not understand; and until they understand it, they cannot be released from it. They have had to believe for many years, and for innumerable reasons, that black men are inferior to white men. Many of them, indeed, know better, but, as you will discover, people find it very difficult to act on what they know.”
James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time

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message 9: by modes

modes so happy you're coming to pittsburgh and looking forward to speaking with you soon (i'm with the city paper and your publicist has been kind enough to help facilitate an interview)! absolutely loving "difficult women."


Roxane Thank you, Evelyn!

Evelyn wrote: "I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying An Untamed State. I am reading it for my book club so I'm torn between wanting to read it very slowly and carefully, taking time to digest all t..."


Evelyn I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying An Untamed State. I am reading it for my book club so I'm torn between wanting to read it very slowly and carefully, taking time to digest all the tidbits, and wanting to devour it all in one sitting. I am completely enthralled (at the half-way point) and so eager to continue reading; I can already tell this will be one of my favorite books of the year! :)


message 6: by R.B.

R.B. Anderson Hi Roxanne,
An Untamed State sound like a powerful read and I have added it to my Want list.

Thank you for befriending me.
RBA


message 5: by Dean

Dean Pusell Thank you for being my friend Roxane :))). Peace


Jaimie Teekell I don't tumbl, so I have no way of commenting to yours though I'm subscribed via RSS. As a single writer living alone who feels like she has no life and cooks for herself and shit, I loved your latest. Not that balance isn't important, but I'm sure the people out there with "lives," the ones who can think at all, think, "I should do something with my life" now and again. You inspired me to make chocolate chip cookies. I wanted to yesterday but I thought, "What's the point?" Your post wasn't really even about doing something for yourself. It was mostly just the yummy pictures.


message 3: by Erin (last edited Jun 20, 2013 11:13PM)

Erin Enjoyed your article in Salon about Paula Deen. Was excited to realize that I recognized your name from Goodreads and that I intend to read your fiction someday!


Roxane Thanks!



message 1: by Jason

Jason Jordan Welcome to Goodreads, Roxane. :)


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