The Reed Reader

by Ishmael Reed

In The Reed Reader Ishmael Reed displays the brilliant and witty satire, politically charged, wildly imaginative storytelling, and caustic cultural criticism that have become his unique trademarks. Included are excerpts from such celebrated novels as The Free-Lance Pallbearers, Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down, Mumbo Jumbo, and Japanese by Spring (among others) and two of his plays, Hubba City and The Preacher and the Rapper. In addition, a wide selection of his poems and essays are collected here, including "Airing Dirty Laundry" and "Shrovetide in New Orleans." The Reed Reader is the cumulative representation of an astonishingly rich and accomplished career, a powerful testament to Reed's many and enormous literary gifts.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Essays, African American, Politics, American

524 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2000

About the author

Ishmael Scott Reed is an American poet, essayist, and novelist. A prominent African-American literary figure, Reed is known for his satirical works challenging American political culture, and highlighting political and cultural oppression.

Reed has been described as one of the most controversial writers. While his work has often sought to represent neglected African and African-American perspectives, his energy and advocacy have centered more broadly on neglected peoples and perspectives irrespective of their cultural origins.

Reviews

[michal k-c]

not going to rate this because it's an anthology for a single writer, and a pretty disparate one at that. I will say it did its job as a "Reader", in that it got me interested enough to order a couple of Reed's novels. Weirdly enough the intro (written by Reed himself) may have been the most interesting thing in this, and that is saying quite a lot.

[Phillip]

from the wide collection of writings included here, the essays were the highlight of the book for me ... not so interested in reading excerpts from the novels - but, indeed, i want to read some of those. the poetry is pretty good ... so far my favorite ishmael reed is BLUES CITY, a rant on the history of oakland.