Stay Black and Die: On Melancholy and Genius

I. Augustus Durham explores melancholy and genius in black culture, letters, and media from the nineteenth century to the contemporary moment, analyzing the works of Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, Marvin Gaye, Octavia E. Butler, and Kendrick Lamar to show how black cultural practices and aesthetics abstract and reveal the lost mother through performance. Durham theorizes the role of the feminine, especially the black maternal, in the production of black masculinist genius.

Format: Hardback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 29 December 2023
Publisher: Duke University Press

In his book "Stay Black and Die", I. Augustus Durham delves into the profound exploration of melancholy and genius within black culture, letters, and media, spanning from the nineteenth century to the contemporary era. Drawing upon psychoanalysis, affect theory, and black studies, Durham endeavors to unveil the enigmatic black mother as both a lost object and a found subject, often obscured in the construction of a cultural legacy of genius throughout history. Through meticulous analysis of the works of Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, Marvin Gaye, Octavia E. Butler, and Kendrick Lamar, Durham showcases how black cultural practices and aesthetics abstract and reveal the lost mother through performance. Whether attributing Douglass's intellect to his matrilineage, interpreting Gaye's falsetto singing voice as a deliberate attempt to interpolate black female vocalization, or examining the women in Ellison's life who nurtured his aesthetic interests, Durham demonstrates that melancholy becomes the catalyst for genius, and genius, in turn, signifies the maternal. By employing psychoanalysis to develop a theory of racial melancholy while engaging with affect theory to investigate racial aesthetics, Durham theorizes the pivotal role of the feminine, particularly the black maternal, in the production of black masculinist genius. This thought-provoking work offers a profound and multi-dimensional perspective on the intersection of melancholy, genius, and the maternal in black culture, shedding light on the complex and enduring legacies of this rich heritage.

Weight: 612g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478020745