The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington

by P. Djèlí Clark

Fireside Magazine
February 2018

Nebula Winner, Best Short Story in 2018

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Magical Realism, Historical, Alternate History

13 pages, ebook

First published February 1, 2018

About the author

Phenderson Djèlí Clark.

Phenderson Djéli Clark is the author of the novel A Master of Djinn, and the award-winning and Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon nominated author of the novellas Ring Shout, The Black God’s Drums and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. His short stories have appeared in online venues such as Tor.com, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in print anthologies including, Griots and Hidden Youth. You can find him on Twitter at @pdjeliclark and his blog The Disgruntled Haradrim.

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 3 out of 5]

whatever. I've put this in about three different places. Just stopping here to check on Clark's works and see what I've missed.

My least favorite Clark. This one did not work as well for me, consisting as it did of nine little short-short stories about each of George Washington’s teeth originating from various Negro people who were slaves. The slaves aren’t necessarily connected, except that they end up in George’s mouth. At the end of each is a cute little semi-epilogue where the tooth continues to represent some of the traits of it’s original person. I wanted more inter-connectivity between the stories, or failing that, longer stories about each person. Doesn’t quite transcend to the concept that even in death, these nine people didn’t have ownership of their own bodies. Hopefully it will intrigue people new to Clark enough to give him a try.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has actually been a reread. But my original review is in some other place.

There are two reasons for this.

The first one being that there is a discrete entry for this story now. It shouldn't be something worth mentioning. However, Goodreads and short stories - this has always been a match made in hell. Frankly, I never understood why it is preferable to have a skewed rating system, and messed up (not properly searchable) shelves, by virtue of forcing people to shelve and rate online magazines, when in fact the vast majority of those people reads (and rates) just one of the freely available stories. It just doesn't make a lick of sense. Maybe at long last they've realized this themselves.

This however is probably the only time where I have actually read the whole (online) magazine in which this story was published. And it always annoyed me that on my short story shelf (which is sorted by how much I liked the respective stories) this shows up in 5th place, but with a rating of three stars, because all the other stories in this issue are utterly forgettable. I'd much rather have the discrete entry for this P. Djèlí Clark story show up there and the magazine somewhere down in 70th place or so. Long rambling short, that's why I'm reviewing it again. Now that the discrete entry is here, and hopefully here to stay.

The reason I've been reading it again, however, is that of all the P. Djèlí Clark stories I've read I gave this the highest rating. But whenever someone asked me (and also when in fact no one asked me) I always said that The Black God's Drums is my favorite story of his. So, let's have another look.

What can I say? Of course I've been right. This story is great.

Inspired by a short note in an account book by a cousin of George Washington the author spins a tale of how the former president acquired possession of nine teeth of former slaves.

In nine vignettes Clark tells of those people's lives. And in doing so he cleverly and seamlessly blends fantastical elements with historical details, which is sort of his trademark style. The result is a highly imaginative work of fiction that repeatedly lets the reader share small and big moments of triumph with its several protagonists.

And which lets George Washington share something with them too. Something beyond only their teeth.

This story is a winner.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

I guess now I have to read The Black God's Drums again.

Link to this story: https://firesidefiction.com/the-secre...

2023 addendum: And now it's a re-reread, actually. I've been looking for a short story for a friend of mine and this is probably not it. But, personally, I'm still loving it.

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh great, they deleted my - and yours too most likely - review of this short story together with the book! I'm not even pissed anymore, this is just ridiculous. Let's see if they will delete this one.
I loved the shortie.

[The Captain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting this story to be emotionally devastating but instead it was a fascinating intellectual exercise. I expected my heart to be shredded and instead my mind was stretched. Apparently, George Washington (our evil first president) purchased teeth from people for his false dentures. This story starts with a quote, “‘By Cash pd Negroes for 9 Teeth on Acct of Dr. Lemoire’ –Lund Washington, Mount Vernon plantation, Account Book dated 1784.” This story explores what the secret lives of the teeth were. I loved this story and it sent me down a rabbit hole about the history behind Washington’s teeth. Check out this article to see a picture of Washington’s dentures and to learn more about the history of false teeth. This was fantastic and I still think it should have won the Hugo. Arrrr!

[Beige · Rating 5 out of 5]

2018 Nebula Award winning story, and I can see why. It's only a 10-15 minute read. Give it a try sometime.

Read for free @ Fireside Magazine - https://firesidefiction.com/the-secre...

[Hasan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brilliant short story. You can read this for free here.

All thanks to the Queen of Murderous Crustaceans for her short yet scrumptious review and for the link.

[Kandice · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was such a clever framing device to tell the story of nine slaves. Perhaps more importantly to show that George Washington, a founding father of the "Home of the FREE and the Brave" was a slave owner himself. Yes, he freed his slaves upon his death as the story also says, but there were 67 years of slave owning before that!

I also learned a fantastic new word.
con·san·guin·i·ty
/ˌkänsaNGˈɡwinədē/

noun
the fact of being descended from the same ancestor.
"the marriage was annulled on grounds of consanguinity"

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚 Free short story from Fireside Magazine 📚

I was going to write a full review for this one but then I figured it would probably end up being ridiculously longer than the story itself so I won't. Lucky you and stuff 🥳🥳.

You should read this short because:

① It’s free. But you might have already read that up there ↑↑. Perhaps.

② It won the 2018 Nebula Award for Best Short Story. Not that this guarantees greatness but it helps. Sometimes.

③ The art is slightly scrumptious:



④ It is a truth universally acknowledged that P. Djèlí Clark is a conjuror of lusciously imaginative worlds and deliciously compelling narratives.

⑤ I said so. (Which is the only reason you need, really.)

↪ Quick maths time: ① + ② + ③ + ④ + ⑤ =





[Pre-review nonsense]

Well that was Slightly Very Good (SVG™) indeed.



Review to come and stuff.

[Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's incredible what P. Djèlí Clark develops from a tiny footnote in history. Yes, George Washington did buy 9 teeth for 122 shillings and had trouble with his teeth. And then goes P. Djèlí Clark and builds up 9 flash fiction stories full of emotions, privilege, enslavement and racism. The world depicted is an alternate reality with magic, mermen and time travel, but that doesn't dillute the emotional distress that history (and this story) has on its back. Yes, our menial privileged actions do contain an emotional cost.

I also liked that the 9 flash fiction stories were really diverse and really different, with highlights on the Ulysses one (who re-tells Circe turning Odysseus men into pigs) and I also liked the SF-esque time-travel/alternate reality one (Solomon), with a melancholy heroine that makes you raise your fist in the air.

P. Djèlí Clark is a must-read. His work is amazing at all levels.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the casual mix of supernatural elements into the story. Imaginative and well written. Not quite a ghost story, not quite historical fiction.

Can be read for free here: https://firesidefiction.com/the-secre...

Beautiful artwork at Fireside Magazine, where the story was originally published.

PS: This must be the third time I have put up this review, because GR keeps deleting this short story. Or maybe I posted it under the heading for fireside magazine? Who knows...

2018 Nebula Award Winner / Hugo Award Nominee / Short Story — Well worth it.

[Ashley Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

P. Djèlí Clark has been on my radar for a little while now and I'm glad I stumbled upon this short story this morning. I have a few more stories lined up in the near future, which I'm now that much more excited to read! The attention to detail was fantastic here.

[Jasmine Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it, especially the mix of supernatural with the historical context. It’s important that the use of slave’s teeth in GW’s dentures is being told and the truth of history is being shared and this was such a good way to do it. There is also the element of heartbreaking eeriness that I just really think takes the story to the next level on top of the supernatural elements that builds further on the tragic narrative of slavery and how humanity failed and how truly evil and heartbreakingly sad it was and is.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite short story ever written.
Its perfection and I LOVE it💜🥰

[Karen ⚜Mess⚜ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah told me to read this

I've been meaning to read a P. Djèlí Clark story, and this was a perfect opportunity to get a taste of his writing. Much impressed was I. A very unique and interesting way to insert fantasy into history.

Now I'm inspired to read The Haunting of Tram Car 015 that's been sitting in my kindle.

[Feli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommend to read this piece of speculative fiction together with the author's blog post about it 'On Slavery, Magic, and the Negro Teeth of George Washington'.

[max theodore · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh this is really good. read it here!

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story won the Nebula Best Short Story 2018 Prize. It tells the 9 stories behind the 9 teeth which are the subject of an entry (I suppose real entry) in a plantation account book. Each is a fantastical tale of their owner's life. Each is embued with magic, sorcery, and two words I had to look up 'thaumturgical' (Having, brought about by, or relating to supernatural powers or magic) and 'obeah' (a kind of sorcery practised especially in the Caribbean). Each tooth has a mysterious effect on its purchaser, one George Washington.
First thing I have read by this author, and am now on the hunt for more.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of great ideas and research clearly went into this story. It's very well-written and I was intrigued by basically all the characters. Unfortunately, the format read like a particularly fascinating newspaper article, and I found it hard to get very invested in the characters because by the time I was becoming accustomed to one, the story moved on to the next, thus the emotional impact wasn't quite there. It just wasn't a very satisfying story, in my opinion, though I applaud the author's creativity.

3 stars.

[Kaja · Rating 3 out of 5]

"For the blacksmith understood what masters had chosen to forget: when you make a man or woman a slave you enslave yourself in turn."

Thought provoking, well written and unique. Unfortunately, the format of 9 short stories crammed into a single short story felt like it was missing something. Some of the stories were quite good, while others felt a bit bland. My favorites might be the cook, the slave trader and Solomon.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This writing just enchants me. This was an extremely clever short story - the mix of magical elements with history is well crafted and the effects the teeth had on Washington made me chuckle. It was very thought provoking, and the writing makes each small piece of the story so easy to picture.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly original and interesting, just like all of Clark's work.

[Myles Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella was brilliant. I was left speechless and floored as I read on and on and on. P. Djèlí Clark is such a genius and his work proves that. This was absolutely incredible and to Mr. Clark, thank you.

[Ricard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dins Freakcions núm. 6

[Noel نوال · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contrary to what we are taught in school George Washington's dentures were not entirely made of wood. Nine of his teeth were taken from enslaved Africans. Clark created a beautiful short fictional and sometimes supernatural story of each of the nine people whose teeth ended up in Washington's mouth. These stories were filled with sorrow, racism, enslavement, resistance, resilience, magic, and beauty. I cannot stop gushing over how much I love P. Djèlí's writing mixing elements of history with science fiction and fantasy.

[Adam Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another phenomenal story by P. Djèlí Clark. This one is a quick read, but quite powerful. Moving from the mundane to the fantastic and back to the mundane, it affected me much more than I would expect of a short story (a genre I typically ignore/overlook).

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting, troubling, engrossing.

[celeste · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be ensnared by the jaws of the enemy, to have your existence reduced to a tool in someone else’s mouth—- it’s a sickening, but powerful imagery.

[Marion Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

"For the blacksmith understood what masters had chosen to forget: when you make a man or woman a slave, you enslave yourself in turn. And the souls of those who made thralls of others would never know rest----in this life or the next."

This quote is prophetic in its wisdom about the connection between a slave and its master.  P. Djeli Clark's award-winning story, The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington, drives home that wisdom quite clear.

Clark's story chronicled a fictional account of the first American president purchase of nine teeth from slaves at that time.  The each tooth purchased gives an account of that person's history and how it came into possession for George Washington.  All of the stories of those nine slaves were sad, heartbreaking, and showed the inhumanity during the height of the Atlantic Slave Trade.

The story reads more like an obituary listing in a newspaper than a full-blown story with characters, plot, and a narrative that brings it to a conclusion.  However, this apparent lack of a story structure on the surface does not negate the story's reading experience at all. Clark lays out the effects of the slave master purchasing these teeth and how it creates a soul tie that he could have never expected. Human connection runs in deep and just because you are in a privileged position that doesn't remove from the circumstances of owning another human being whether society accepts or not.

After reading the story, I could see why it won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story of 2018 and the Locus Award for Best Short Story in 2019. Clark approaches the legacy of American slavery in a way that is digestible and a matter-of-fact that could be easily glossed over upon a first reading.  However, there is a depth in this story that demands those who have lost their teeth be considered as fully human and sympathetic to the slave owner's (who happens to be the 1st American president) plight in receiving the teeth at the same time.

The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington first appeared in Fireside Fiction Magazine in 2018 and included in The 2019 Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy Anthology edited by Carmen Maria Machado. P. Djeli Clark is an author that I have kept my eye on.  I have read his novellas, The Black God's Drums and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. Both novellas were solid and I'm looking forward to reading his first novel, A Master of Djinn.  Also, I have read his essay, Fantasy's Othering Fetish, where he looked at the lack of diversity in the fantasy genre.  He has my attention and I have appreciated his works pushing the genre I love the most forward.

[Ada · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by Phenderson Djèlí Clark / Edited by Julia Rios / Selected by Brian J. White on firesidefiction.com

***Maandag 5 februari 2024***
✨5 - loved it (even if it has flaws, this was the story for me)

This short story made me really sad. I think the reason for that is, here you have all these people, with very interesting lives, but you can't get their full story because their lives were cut short.

I hate reading about slavery. At this point in my live I don't think I will never not get sad after reading them. No matter how they end. They hurt. They enrage me. And this short story shows me why. Even in fiction. Even in my beloved fantasy genre. Slaves will suffer. And sometimes I can separate the fiction from reality but when the characters look like me and mine, I have so much trouble with it. It takes all of the fun out of reading.

So this story hits hard. Yet it is somewhat hopeful? I mean it also shows that these people were interesting. They survived in some way or another. Even if it is just in stories. Even if it was only in small ways. They did matter.

Bit of a weird take on hope but that's how it feels to me.

I truly adore P. Djèlí Clark's writing. I may not always love his stories but the way he writes them are exquisite.

[Anurag Sahay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story is available for free here. You can also find the author's own explanation for the story here.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story -- of the three Clark's I read in the past few days, this is by far the shortest and the best written. The story is told in 9 snippets -- one for each tooth that went into Washington's service. The stories themselves are a mixture of excellent worldbuilding in the vein of fantastical-elements-in-the-real-world, like I pointed out in my reviews of Clark's Cairene stories, with an exploration of different facets of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and slavery in the American colonies in general.

If there's one complaint I would make, it's that the story is too short -- but honestly, the length is what makes it work. The impact of each sentence in Clark's writing is pretty strong, and he makes good use of his subject matter expertise as a historian by profession to tell a compelling, human story.

I wish other people like Clark and Marie Brennan and Arkady Martine wrote like this, in which they applied their academic knowledge into writing a compelling sff story. Highly recommended.