biography
“Chasing Me to My Grave: The Memoirs of the Southern Artist Jim Crowe,” by Winfred Rembert, told Erin I. Kelly
This memoir, told to a philosopher at Tufts University, combines Mr. Rembert’s life story with his artwork. In images and in Mr. Rember’s own words, before he died last March, the story tells of his life in the deep south of the Jim Crow era, his imminent escape from a lynching attempt in Georgia, his imprisonment working on chain gangs and his discovery at the end of the life of his artistic talent.
The finalists “Pessoa: A Biography” by Richard Zenith; “Dr. Blackwell: How Two Pioneer Sisters Brought Medicine to Women – and Women to Medicine,” by Janice P. Nimura
poetry
“Frank: Sonnets” by Diane Seuss
Ms. Suze described this collection, her fifth, as a sonnet memoir with poems that deal with death, birth, loss, and addiction. The collection also won the National Book Critics’ Award and the PEN / Voelcker Award.
The finalists “Refractive Africa: Ballet of the Forgotten” by Will Alexander; “Yellow Rain” by Mai Der Wang
GENERAL DOCUMENTATION
“The Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival and Hope in an American City” by Andrea Elliott
Ms. Elliott’s intimately reported book expands her acclaimed 2013 series for The Times about Dasani Coates, a homeless New York student, and her family. Apart from a portrait of the family, it is about a city and a country that have repeatedly failed to deal with the problems of poverty and addiction.
The finalists “Home, Land, Security: Deradicalization and Returning from Extremism” by Carla Power; “The Family Deer: American History” by Joshua Prager
DRAMA
“Fat Ham” by James Ajames
A barbecue-set comedy riff of Hamlet, this play is about a black, gay, southern woman whose father’s ghost urges him to avenge his death. The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia aired a virtual production last year; The first personal production will begin previews at the Public Theater in New York on Thursday.
The finalists “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord”, by Kristina Wong; Selling Kabul, by Sylvia Huri
MUSIC
“Silent Mass” by Raven Chacon
This site-specific work, for organ and ensemble, was commissioned for the Present Music concert for Thanksgiving in Milwaukee. Mr Chakon, a member of the Navajo nation, said he did not want to present his art on the holiday, but made an exception. However, the work was appropriate for the occasion and for the church where it was premiered: It is a study of gathering places, their history and the land they occupy. He believes, writes Mr. Chacken, “the futility of giving a voice to the voiceless when giving up space is never an option for those in power.”
The Seven Pillars finalists by Andy Akiho; “With the eyes of the color of time” by Anne Leilehua Lanziloti
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