Disorientation: Being Black in the World

FINALIST FOR THE 2021 HILARY WESTON WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION“Disorientation is a formally inventive and searing meditation on race and Blackness. Both topical and literary, Williams’ essay collection juxtaposes personal stories about racial profiling and microaggressions alongside discussions about the murders of George Floyd and Eric Garner and readings of Black writers like Audre Lorde and James Baldwin. His writing moves, by turn, from tenderness to despair to anger, yet remains clear-eyed and intellectually rigorous throughout. In an age of hot takes and condemnation, Williams’ essays reflect, explore, and illuminate.”  —Jury, Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction“A lyrical, closely observed contribution to the literature of race and social justice.” —Kirkus Reviews“Whether it’s novels or poetry or, now, his new book of essays, [Ian Williams] reaches out by sharing his art and his world, opening up conversations.” —Toronto Star “[Ian Williams’] reflections—spanning life in Trinidad, Canada and the United States—deserve to be read widely.” —Chatelaine “[A] book that invites its reader into Williams’ thoughts on race, Blackness and place through accessible essays and personal accounts. . . . It’s an invitation well worth taking.” —The Ubyssey  “The poet, professor, and Giller-winning novelist turns his substantial creative skill to the topic of anti-Black racism. . . . Williams extrapolates universal insight into the experience of living under white supremacy.” —Quill & Quire “Disorientation is so honest, vulnerable, courageous and funny that it left me dying to sit down over a long coffee with Ian Williams. Make that two lattes, and I’m buying!”—Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes“In this pithy, kaleidoscopic book, Williams interrogates moments when Black people have their personal identities challenged by the powerful misperceptions of others. Williams turns these scenes of intimate and public disorientation into subtle, radical essays on self-realization." —Walton Muyumba, The Boston Globe