Elias Rodriques

Elias Rodriques is the author of All the Water I’ve Seen Is Running and teaches at Sarah Lawrence College.

James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love

James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love James Baldwin’s Radical Politics of Love

While Baldwin was persecuted in part because of whom he loved, it was love that impelled him to bring about a more utopian future in which such persecution was not possible.

Sep 9, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

“Blues People” and Black Life: A Conversation With Imani Perry

“Blues People” and Black Life: A Conversation With Imani Perry “Blues People” and Black Life: A Conversation With Imani Perry

We spoke with the scholar about Black in Blues, a poetic exploration of the relationship between the color blue and Black people.

Apr 14, 2025 / Q&A / Elias Rodriques

How the Western Literary Canon Made the World Worse

How the Western Literary Canon Made the World Worse How the Western Literary Canon Made the World Worse

A talk with Dionne Brand about her recent book, Salvage, which looks at how the classic texts of Anglo-American fiction helped abet the crimes of capitalism, colonialism, and more...

Dec 5, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

Nell Irvin Painter’s Chronicles of Freedom

Nell Irvin Painter’s Chronicles of Freedom Nell Irvin Painter’s Chronicles of Freedom

A new career-spanning book offers a portrait of Painter’s career as a historian, essayist, and most recently visual artist.

May 7, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

How Saidiya Hartman Changed the Study of Black Life

How Saidiya Hartman Changed the Study of Black Life How Saidiya Hartman Changed the Study of Black Life

A conversation with writer about her pathbreaking book Scenes of Subjection and how our understanding of race has changed in the last two decades. 

Nov 3, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

Thulani Davis’s Freedom Visions

Thulani Davis’s Freedom Visions Thulani Davis’s Freedom Visions

Her new history of the Civil War and Reconstruction examines the ways in which Black Americans formed networks of self-reliance in their pursuit of emancipation.

Oct 3, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

The Long History of Resistance That Birthed Black Lives Matter

The Long History of Resistance That Birthed Black Lives Matter The Long History of Resistance That Birthed Black Lives Matter

A conversation with historian Donna Murch about the past, present, and future of Black radical organizing.

May 24, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

Manthia Diawara in the Archive of Postcolonialism

Manthia Diawara in the Archive of Postcolonialism Manthia Diawara in the Archive of Postcolonialism

His films put into practice the history of radical Black thought by placing generations of thinkers in conversation.

Feb 10, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

The Black Arts Movement’s Revolution in the South

The Black Arts Movement’s Revolution in the South The Black Arts Movement’s Revolution in the South

A new book offers a sweeping history of the radical art and institutions created in the South by the Black Arts Movement.

Jan 10, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in PASSING

What “Passing” Can Still Teach Us About Identity What “Passing” Can Still Teach Us About Identity

A film adaptation of Nella Larsen’s novel dramatizes the mercurial and sometimes dangerous consequences of a person's performance of self in the public.

Nov 4, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

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