List of Afrofuturist literature explained

Afrofuturism, as a genre, describes fictional works which encompass Black science fiction and may engage with any and all structural elements of the broader umbrella of subgenres (horror, fantasy, magical realism, historical fiction, etc.) classified under Black speculative fiction.[1] [2] [3]

Afrofuturist literary works resist singular notions of a “Black” cultural experience.[4] Instead, Afrofuturist narratives draw upon a variety of ethnic, national, regional histories and cosmologies, as well as indigenous religious frameworks.[5] Thematically, Afrofuturist literature delves into revisionist or alternative history making, while galvanizing conversations on social injustice and Black liberation. Afrofuturist literature investigates questions of Black intellectual production, materiality, and intellectual ownership, while reimagining the potential futures of individuals within the Afrodiaspora.[6]

The emerging genre of Afrofuturist literature is influenced by two strands, Afro-pessimism and Black optimism.[7] Afro-pessimism asserts that the violence of colonialism and slavery contributes to a definition of Blackness as a state of non-being. In this state, Black individuals exist within and yet are alienated from the rest of society.[8] In Afrofuturist literature, Afro-pessimism underscores a bleak view of futurity and any inherent possibility for Black self-determination and social advancement.[9] [10] In contrast, Black optimism reconsiders Blackness after slavery and colonialism relative to modernity, technology, and culture. Black optimism emphasizes Blackness as a complete and holistic state of being.[11] It rejects the essentialism and inherent abjectness of socially-determined “Blackness” as portrayed in Afro-pessimism.[12] [13] Within the context of Afrofuturist literature, the Black imaginary and its creative expression are essential pivot points for self-determining futurity.

List of Afrofuturist literature

Author(s)/Editor(s)YearTitle
Brissett, Jennifer Marie2014Elysium, Or, The World After[14]
Butler, Octavia1979Kindred
Du Bois, W. E. B.1920[15]
Ellison, Ralph1952Invisible Man
Hopkinson, Nalo1998Brown Girl in the Ring[16]
Jemisin, N.K.2015The Fifth Season
Jennings, John; Robinson, Stacey2013Black Kirby: In Search Of: The Motherboxx Connection[17] [18]
Due, Tananarive1997My Soul to Keep[19]
Farmer, Nancy1994The Ear, the Eye and the Arm[20]
Wilson, Kai Ashante2015The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps
James, Marlon2019Black Leopard, Red Wolf[21]
Schuyler, George1931Black No More
Adeyemi, Tomi2018Children of Blood and Bone[22]
Tutuola, Amos1952The Palm-Wine Drinkard
Callender, Kacen2019Queen of the Conquered[23]
Johnson, Mat2011Pym[24]
Okri, Ben1991The Famished Road
Deonn, Tracy2020Legendborn
Whitehead, Colson2011Zone One[25]
Bayron, Kalynn2020Cinderella is Dead
Ifueko, Jordan2020Raybearer
Monáe, Janelle2022[26]
Clarke, Matthew; Lynch, Nigel2021Hardears[27] [28]
Fielder, Tim2021Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale[29] [30]
Campbell, Bill; Hall, Edward Austin 2013Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond[31]
Olayiwola, Porsha2019i shimmer sometimes, too[32]
Ashante Wilson, Kai2015The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps
Reed, Ishmael1972Mumbo Jumbo[33] [34]
Lord, Karen2014The Galaxy Game[35]
Roye Okupe2015E.X.O.: The Legend of Wale WIlliams[36]
Johnson, Dawn Alaya 2020Trouble The Saints [37]
Kwame, Mbalia2019Tristian Strong Punches a Hole in the sky [38]
Kwame, Mbalia2020Tristian Strong Destroys the World [39]
Banks, Leslie2003The Vampire Huntress Legend Series: Minion[40]
Mbalia, Kwame2019Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky[41]
Ireland, Justina2018Dread Nation[42] [43]
James, Marlon2022Moon Witch, Spider King[44]
Barnes, Steven2002Lion's Blood[45]
2014Song of the Shank[46]
Jackson, Kosoko2022Survive the Dome [47]
Forma, Namina2021The Gilded Ones[48]
Shawl, Nisi2016Everfair[49]
Nisi Shawl2008Filter House[50]
Fielder, Tim2018Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale[51]
Andrea Hairston2006Mindscape[52]
Maurice Broaddus2022Sweep of Stars[53]
Ireland, Justina2020Deathless Divide[54]
Nnedi Okorafor2015Binti
Rivers Solomon2017An Unkindness of Ghosts
Delany R., Martin1859Blake; or the Huts of America[55]
Thomas R., Sheree2000Dark Matter (prose anthologies)[56]
|-|Turnbull, Cadwell|2021|No gods, no monsters: a novel|}

References

  1. Book: Carrington, André M. . Speculative Blackness: The Future of Race in Science Fiction . 2016-02-29 . U of Minnesota Press . 978-1-4529-4975-8 . en.
  2. Book: Lavender (III), Isiah . Afrofuturism Rising: The Literary Prehistory of a Movement . 2019 . Ohio State University Press . 978-0-8142-5556-8 . en.
  3. Bould . Mark . 2007 . The Ships Landed Long Ago: Afrofuturism and Black SF . Science Fiction Studies . 34 . 2 . 177–186 . 4241520 . 0091-7729.
  4. Book: Culture, Nat'l Mus Afr Am Hist . Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures . 2023-03-21 . Soho Press . 978-1-58834-740-4 . en.
  5. McDougall . Audrey Suzanne . 2020-05-15 . Afrofuturism: Blackness, Sound, and Counter-Narratives . Journal of Integrated Studies . en . 12 . 1 . 2816-3001.
  6. Ogbunu . C. Brandon . How Afrofuturism Can Help the World Mend . 2024-02-05 . Wired . en-US . 1059-1028.
  7. Hill-Jarrett . Tanisha G. . 2023 . The Black radical imagination: a space of hope and possible futures . Frontiers in Neurology . 14 . 10.3389/fneur.2023.1241922 . free . 1664-2295 . 10557459 . 37808484.
  8. Book: Wilderson, Frank B., III . Afropessimism . 2020-04-07 . Liveright Publishing . 978-1-63149-615-8 . en.
  9. Day . Iyko . 2015 . Being or Nothingness: Indigeneity, Antiblackness, and Settler Colonial Critique . Critical Ethnic Studies . 1 . 2 . 102–121 . 10.5749/jcritethnstud.1.2.0102 . 10.5749/jcritethnstud.1.2.0102 . 2373-5031. subscription .
  10. Warren . Calvin L. . 2015-03-01 . Black Nihilism and the Politics of Hope . CR: The New Centennial Review . en . 15 . 1 . 215–248 . 10.14321/crnewcentrevi.15.1.0215 . 145258705 . 1532-687X.
  11. Moten . Fred . 2008 . The Case of Blackness . Criticism . 50 . 2 . 177–218 . 10.1353/crt.0.0062 . 23128740 . 154145525 . 0011-1589. subscription .
  12. Hart . William David . 2018-01-01 . Constellations: Capitalism, Antiblackness, Afro-Pessimism, and Black Optimism . American Journal of Theology & Philosophy . en . 39 . 1 . 5–33 . 10.5406/amerjtheophil.39.1.0005 . 0194-3448. subscription .
  13. Moten . Fred . 2008 . Black Op . PMLA . 123 . 5 . 1743–1747 . 25501981 . 0030-8129.
  14. Web site: Afrofuturism beginner's reading list: Octavia E. Butler, N.K. Jemisin, Janelle Monáe, more . 2023-02-05 . www.usatoday.com . en.
  15. Web site: Cheatam . Safiyah . 2020-07-31 . Making a Case for W.E.B. Du Bois as a Proto Afrofuturist . 2023-02-15 . The Drinking Gourd . en.
  16. Web site: Narrative Muse Brown Girl in the Ring Book . 2023-02-17 . Narrative Muse.
  17. Book: Jennings . John . Black Kirby . Robinson . Stacey . 2013 . Black Kirby Collective in association with Eye Trauma Studio/ J2D2/ URBAN KREEP ENTERPRISES and Trimekka Studios . Buffalo, NY.
  18. Web site: BSO . 2024-04-29 . BSO . en-us.
  19. Sanchez-Taylor . Joy . 2020-03-22 . Alternative Futurisms: Tananarive Due's African Immortal Series. . Extrapolation . English . 61 . 1 . 91–109. 10.3828/extr.2020.7 . 218944753 . subscription .
  20. Web site: Afrofuturism Fiction Suggestions for Kids, Teens & Adults . 2023-02-15 . The New York Public Library . en.
  21. Web site: Power . Ed . Book Review: Black Leopard, Red Wolf . 2023-02-15 . Hotpress.
  22. Web site: II . Vann R. Newkirk . 2018-03-06 . Where Fantasy Meets Black Lives Matter . 2023-02-15 . The Atlantic . en.
  23. Web site: Explore Afrofuturism, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy . 2023-02-15 . Carmel Clay Public Library . en-US.
  24. Web site: An Afro Futurism book - Extreme Reader 2021 . 2023-02-15 . Tacoma Public Library . en-US.
  25. Web site: Afrofuturism beginner's reading list: Octavia E. Butler, N.K. Jemisin, Janelle Monáe, more . 2023-02-15 . www.usatoday.com . en.
  26. News: Kearse . Stephen . 2022-04-19 . Janelle Monáe's Queer, Afrofuturist Literary Debut . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-02-17 . 0362-4331.
  27. Web site: Lynch . Clarke, Matthew & Nigel . Hardears . 2023-02-22 . Library Journal.
  28. Bould . Mark . 2007 . The Ships Landed Long Ago: Afrofuturism and Black SF . Science Fiction Studies . 34 . 2 . 177–186 . 0091-7729 . 4241520.
  29. Web site: 2021-02-26 . Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale: Illustrator-Author Tim Fielder Looks to the Future With a Modern Epic . 2023-02-22 . The Root . en.
  30. Book: Fielder, Tim . Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale . 2021-01-19 . HarperCollins . 978-0-06-306788-2 . en.
  31. Book: Campbell . Bill . Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond . Hall . Edward Austin . 2013 . Rosarium Publishing . 978-0-9891411-4-7 . en.
  32. Book: Olayiwola . Porsha . i shimmer sometimes, too . 2019 . Button Poetry . 978-1-9437354-5-7 . en.
  33. Kim . Myungsung . 2018 . The Grapevine Telegraph "Jes Grew": Sonic Materialism, Afrofuturism and Information Theory in Ishmael Reed's Mumbo Jumbo . TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies . 39 . 89–109 . 10.3138/topia.39.05 . 165304856 . 1916-0194. subscription .
  34. Book: Reed, Ishmael . Mumbo Jumbo . 2013-01-29 . Open Road Media . 978-1-4532-8797-2 . en.
  35. Web site: Must-Read Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism Books Penguin Random House . 2023-03-16 . PenguinRandomhouse.com . en-US.
  36. News: Ito . Robert . 2021-02-07 . Beyond 'Black Panther': Afrofuturism Is Booming in Comics . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-04-27 . 0362-4331.
  37. Web site: 2020-07-31 . Finding Room for Black Hope, Black Justice, and Black Love in Noir Fiction . 2023-04-29 . CrimeReads . en-US.
  38. News: Stephens . John . 2019-10-23 . A Debut Fantasy Novel Summons the Power of African Myths . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-04-29 . 0362-4331.
  39. Web site: Review: Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia . 2023-04-29 . Bayley Reads Books . 13 July 2021 . en-US.
  40. Web site: Afrofuturism Fiction Suggestions for Kids, Teens & Adults . 2023-04-29 . New York Public Library. en-US.
  41. Web site: Traversing the Gaps: An Afrofuturist Approach to Social Change Through Dreaming in Science Fiction and STEM/Computer Science Education * Journal of Futures Studies . 2023-04-30 . Journal of Futures Studies . en-US.
  42. Web site: Afrofuturism & Afrofantasy List . 2024-02-15 . Washoe County Library System . en-US.
  43. Web site: Afrofuturism . 2024-04-19 . The Seattle Public Library . en-US.
  44. Web site: Must-Read Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism Books Penguin Random House . 2024-02-15 . PenguinRandomhouse.com . en-US.
  45. Web site: Ebert . Chaz . Reprise: The Evolution of Afrofuturism: Black Power, Black Love, Black Superheroes and Magic Chaz's Journal Roger Ebert . 2024-02-15 . www.rogerebert.com/ . en.
  46. Web site: Antonucci . Michael . 2024-02-14 . African Time Machine: An Interview with Jeffery Renard Allen . 2024-02-15 . BIG OTHER . en-US.
  47. Web site: Afrofuturism . February 26, 2024 . The Indianapolis Public Library.
  48. Smith . Dywanna . Johnson . Kenesha . Eaddy . Kiana . 2024 . And Then the Black Birthed Me: Celebrating Black Girlhood in Middle Level ELA Classrooms Through Afrofuturism . South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education Journal . 3 . 3 . 122–129.
  49. Web site: sonofsagan . 2019-12-01 . Afrofuturism’s Specter: Alternate History, Racial Capitalism, and Nisi Shawl’s “Everfair” . 2024-03-22 . Sean Guynes . en.
  50. Web site: 2019-02-20 . Science Fiction by Women: Afrofuturism Edition . 2024-03-22 . www.chipublib.org . en-US.
  51. Web site: Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale (Hardcover) by Tim Fielder . 2024-03-22 . sistahscifi.
  52. Web site: Takács . Bogi . 2018-10-23 . QUILTBAG+ Speculative Classics: Mindscape by Andrea Hairston . 2024-03-22 . Reactor . en-US.
  53. Web site: Writing an Afrofuturist Space Opera - Tor/Forge Blog . 2024-04-19 . www.torforgeblog.com.
  54. Web site: Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism . 2024-04-23 . www.powells.com.
  55. Web site: Han . Yoonji . 2023-02-28 . 22 Afrofuturist books that reimagine worlds from a Black perspective . 2024-04-27 . Business Insider Africa . en.
  56. Web site: Afrofuturism, Dark Matter, and the Divine: A Conversation with Maxine Montgomery on Black Is King . 2024-04-27 . TriQuarterly . en.

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