NewsPercival Everett Wins National Book Award for 'James' Novel

Percival Everett Wins National Book Award for ‘James’ Novel

Everett centers ‘James’ on the enslaved character Jim from Mark Twain’s 1884 picaresque novel.

Everett, a Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California, centers his retelling, James, on the enslaved character Jim from Twain’s 1884 picaresque novel. Praised by critics as “gripping, painful, funny, horrifying,” Everett’s reimagining earned him one of the most prestigious literary awards in the United States, The Guardian reports.

“Two weeks ago, I was feeling pretty low,” he said. “And to tell the truth, I still feel pretty low. And as I look out at this, so much excitement about books, I have to say I do feel some hope, but it’s important to remember that hope really is no substitute for strategy,” he said.

He opened his speech by taking a jab at artificial intelligence, saying it’s “no replacement for the real thing.”

Others awarded during the ceremony include Jason De León, whose book Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling serves as an anthropological look at the people who bring migrants over the southern border. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha won the poetry award for her collection, Something About Living, an expansive look at Palestinian history and the Palestinian diaspora. Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and her translator Lin King won the prize for translated literature for their book Taiwan Travelogue, a novel about the relationship between a Japanese novelist and her Taiwanese interpreter.

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Source: Black Enterprise

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