Every book should have a soundtrack!
06.03.2026 13:44
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Every book should have a soundtrack!
Either would work!
Writing tip #4: As I write a book, I bury myself in a brilliant work of fiction about the same time period, to fill my mind with its atmospheric literary power. As I wrote *The Fearless Benjamin Lay* I read Barry Unsworth’s epic novel about the 18c, *Sacred Hunger*, (for the fifth or sixth time).
Writing tip #3: Figure out what time of day you write best (very early morning for me), and write something every day, as little as a paragraph or a page. This is easier to do than you think. Consistency of effort matters; it is a form of discipline and should become a habit.
I learned a lot from Eduardo Galeano, Barry Unsworth, and Clifford Geertz.
Writing tip #2: Three things to do to write for a broader audience. First, you need to want to. (Most people do not.) Second, you need to read and study gifted prose stylists and learn from them. Third, you must work hard at the art and craft of writing. It’s all pretty simple.
Writing tip #1: No matter where you are in the writing process, imagine your ideal audience and write for it – small, large, simple, complex: friends, family, community, scholars, activists, children, theatre-goers, the general public. You pick the combination & decide to whom you want to speak.
A few years ago, before I left Twitter, I published a set of tips on writing and another on publishing -- wisdom culled from forty-plus years in the game. Is there any interest out there in having me rerun those tips here?
My super-talented friend and fellow worker, David Lester, has created a short video about our forthcoming book, *The Black Schoooner: Rebellion on the Amistad, A Graphic Novel*, to be published by Beacon Press in June 2026.
Pre-order here: : tinyurl.com/5n893x9m
youtu.be/iMh38kMW2Ws?...
Here's a review of the Italian edition of my book, *The Fearless Benjamin Lay*, by Susanna Ralaima for *Culturificio*. She concludes: this “Atlantic David, capable of challenging the Goliath of his society, … still today forcefully calls us to civil disobedience.”
culturificio.org/il-piantagra...
When I accepted the George Washington Book Prize at a black-tie dinner of 500 people at Mount Vernon in 2008, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito glared angrily as I explained how enslaved people were the nation’s real founding mothers and fathers. I guess he did not care for "history from below."
Here is my blurb for an important new book: “Like Julius Scott’s *The Common Wind*, Eva O’Donovan’s *Moving Toward Freedom* tilts our angle of vision, enabling us to see the histories of slavery and resistance in creative and inspiring new ways.”
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741144...
"Most of the histories of the Underground Railroad are meant to glorify the white abolitionists. My book emphasizes the initiative of the enslaved themselves and those working people who help them"—Marcus Rediker – on @thenation.com podcast bit.ly/4qFqI09 @vikingbooks.bsky.social
"We are talking about self emancipation from below" – Marcus Rediker, author of "Freedom Ship" – on @thenation.com podcast bit.ly/4qFqI09 @vikingbooks.bsky.social
Thanks, Chris!
Our forthcoming graphic novel, *The Black Schooner: Rebellion on the Amistad*, has its first review, in *Kirkus*, which aims at libraries and booksellers: “An evocative, incisive, and powerful piece of graphic history.” The book’s voyage begins with stout wind!
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
How "the determination of southern authorities to eliminate escape by sea was never equal to the political will of the enslaved to be free" – Marcus Rediker on "Freedom Ship" – on @thenation.com podcast bit.ly/4qFqI09 @vikingbooks.bsky.social
Thanks, Ryan!
It was my pleasure to speak with my friend Jon Wiener about my book *Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea* for @thenation.com podcast. My part begins at 22:10.
www.thenation.com/podcast/arch...
It was an honor to work with Jesse Jackson on a panel on the death penalty in Philadelphia in 2000 and again in 2003 at a panel on SNCC organizers at the OAH in the National Civil Rights Museum (the old the Lorraine Hotel) in Memphis, on the 35th anniversary of MLK’s assassination. RIP, Jesse.
I hope so! No offers yet.
Dear friends: I will visit the UK the last two weeks of April to conduct a book tour for *Freedom Ship*, to be published next month by @versobooks.bsky.social, and to screen my new film, *Becoming Benjaman Lay*, directed by Tony Buba. I’ll have info on specific events soon.
Spotted by a friend at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, alongside @araujohistorian.bsky.social and @gogogomalley.bsky.social. Love the neighborhood!
Here is a brief clip from the interview I did with my friend and former student, Johnathan JeVon White, for his Apple podcast, “The History of Being Black.” It is a story about hope in dark times, how small acts of resistance matter.
youtube.com/shorts/nFgnC...
My friend and colleague Eladio Bobadilla will soon publish a new and timely book, *Dangerous Migrations: Mexican Labor and the Fight for Immigrant Rights* -- a labor history of migration and struggle from below. Pre-order with discount using the code below.
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
From the trio of @marcusrediker.bsky.social, David Lester, & Paul Buhle comes a compelling new graphic! THE BLACK SCHOONER, published by @beaconpress.bsky.social goes on sale 6/9 & is available for pre-order now from your local indie, @bookshop.org, B&N, & Amazon!
youtu.be/iMh38kMW2Ws?...
*Freedom Ship* keeping very good company in this bookcase! Thanks, @simonatmadison.bsky.social!
One of the things I will include in my new book on history from below is a series of discussions I had with Christopher Hill about the relationship between 17c religious radicals (Levellers, Diggers, Ranters, etc.) and late 20c liberation theologians. They used the same Biblical passages.
During my brief correspondence with Michel Foucault between 1978-1980, we discussed piracy and life at sea. He wrote, “I intend to study the laws concerning the sea next year.” Had he done this, he would have returned to his earlier lecture, “Of Other Spaces.” It never happened; what a shame.
@marcusrediker.bsky.social, would you be able to share the overall thread, to help get all this great work to your followers? Thanks!
bsky.app/profile/amer...