Praise for Fatheralong

"Superb...There are musicians who are known among their peers as 'musicians' musicians' because of their affection of their work, as well as their virtuosity and their subtle manipulation of the elements of their craft. John Edgar Wideman is one of a select group of writers who can claim a similar distinction."
—The New York Times Book Review

"An important, moving, large-spirited book...Wideman understands that the personal is the political, that somehow every single black life today is tied inextricably to the prison of race."
—Washington Post Book World

"Six discursive, stirring autobiographical essays wrestle with the social definitions foisted on the author as a black man and situate him within his own personal experiences and the collective history of his kin...Earnest, artful, hopeful, angry, and proud, Wideman's lovely book contains the seeds of promise for a world where black children have a rich wellspring of history to draw from, and where there's 'enough love for everybody.'"
—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Slaveroad

"Long heralded as one of literature’s preeminent voices, John Edgar Wideman has faithfully chronicled the experiences of African Americans for almost 60 years...This book offers a fresh perspective of slavery’s impact and a confirmation of Wideman’s exalted status in American letters."
—New York Magazine

"Part autofiction, part history and part memoir, this book is an alchemy of genres. Wideman meditates on the word “slaveroad” as a metaphor—both temporal and corporeal—to examine its various meanings and its connection to the trans-Atlantic slave trade."
—The New York Times

"A work of bruising candor and obsessive originality, [Slaveroad] makes sense only outside the constraints of clock time, beyond trends or movements or even any contemporary notion of ‘relevance'....the Nobel committee has not given an American fiction writer the literature prize for more than 30 years, but if its members are of a mind to, I hope they begin their considerations here."
—Wall Street Journal

“[Wideman] tells and retells powerful, miry tales in Slaveroad that are incantatory, transporting and incendiary.”
—New York Times Book Review

"An agonized howl, a lament, an audacious quest to ‘revisit and reify moments in my life that haunt and form me."
—LA Times

"A genre-defying and clear-eyed meditation on the roiling effects of transatlantic slavery on past and present lives, including [Wideman’s] own…By mining the depths of our shared history across place and time in his impassioned “Slaveroad,” Wideman invites us to come along with him on a journey (or a daring, self-excavating exercise?) both immeasurably rigorous and rewarding."
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A blend of memoir, fiction, and history that charts the 'slaveroad' that runs through American history, spanning the Atlantic slave trade to the criminal justice system...[for] fans of Clint Smith and Ta-Nehisi Coates."
—The Millions

Praise for John Edgar Wideman

“Master of language.”
—New York Times Book Review 

"Mr. Wideman is one of the great tragedians of American literature."
—Wall Street Journal