Insurrections: Stories (University Press of Kentucky New Poetry and Prose)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.24 (555 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 081316818X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 208 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-10-17 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Rion Amilcar Scott teaches English at Bowie State University. His work has appeared in publications such as the Kenyon Review, Crab Orchard Review, PANK, The Rumpus, Fiction International, the Washington City Paper, The Toast, and Confrontation.. He earned an MFA at George Mason University, where he won both the Mary Roberts Rinehart Award and a Completion Fellowship
A man seeking to save his estranged, drug-addicted brother from the city's underbelly confronts his own mortality. A suicidal father looks to an older neighborand the Cookie Monsterfor salvation and sanctuary as his life begins to unravel. Raw, edgy, and unrelenting yet infused with forgiveness, redemption, and humor, the stories in this collection explore characters suffering the quiet tragedies of everyday life and fighting for survival.In Insurrections, Rion Amilcar Scott's lyrical prose authentically portrays individuals growing up and growing old in an African American community. A chess match between a girl and her father turns into a master class about life, self-realization, and pride: "Now hold on little girl. Chess is like real life. Writing with a delivery and dialect that are intense and unapologetically current, Scott presents characters who dare to make their own choiceschoices of kindness or crueltyin the depths of darkness and hopelessness. The white pieces go first so they got an advantage over the black pieces."These are just a few glimpses into the world of the residents of the fictional town of Cross River, Maryland, a largely black settlement founded in 1807 after the only successful slave revolt in the United States. Although Cross River's residents may be halted or deter
Bold and Brilliant Insurrections is a collection of short stories all set in the town of Cross River, Maryland. I could not relate to any of these stories, but that did not keep me from appreciating the bold writing and character richness. The story of Joan Santi—my favorite in the collection—simply hurt my heart. There is a lot said in these short stories. I’m hoping Scott’s next effort is a novel.. Compelling, well-crafted, and hugely satisfying I found myself torn while reading this book--but in a good way. Every time I finished a story, I wanted to hand it to one of my friends to read, but of course I couldn't do that because I wanted to keep on reading. Scott has brought his fictional town of Cross River to life with a full array of complex, fleshed-out characters. He covers the light and dark of life in Cross River, from the "tragedy" of a bad hair cut, to a boy qu
Read this book. Scott, it appears, has a knack for finding the best structure toorganically fit the details of the plot. It brings to mind a wide range of our finest story writers, past and present: Flannery O'Connor and Edward P Jones, Junot Diaz and even David Foster Wallace. It is a group of stories that need to be told."Coffee and Books"The writing of Insurrections is energetic and musicalfully inhabiting a diverse array of storytelling styles. and writes about race, fatherhood, lust, and envy with estimable candor."The Millions"It was so refreshing to read stories that feature African-American men and boys as fully formed characters with hopes, dreams, and fears without relying on tired stereotypes and ca