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Roxane Gay

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Roxane Gay

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Roxane Gay’s writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times bestselling Bad Feminist, the nationally bestselling Difficult Women and the New York Times bestselling Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. She has several books forthcoming and is also at work on television and film projects. Her newsletter, The Audacity, where she also hosts The Audacious Book Club, can be found at audacity.substack. ...more

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Roxane Gay I will send Channing Tatum a whole lot more than that.
Roxane Gay I live in the middle of nowhere, I don't have children, I'm an insomniac, I love writing, I'm motivated, writing is often self-medication. …moreI live in the middle of nowhere, I don't have children, I'm an insomniac, I love writing, I'm motivated, writing is often self-medication. (less)
Average rating: 4.05 · 353,172 ratings · 41,398 reviews · 127 distinct worksSimilar authors
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

4.17 avg rating — 119,401 ratings — published 2017 — 4 editions
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Bad Feminist

3.92 avg rating — 118,029 ratings — published 2014 — 56 editions
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Difficult Women

3.95 avg rating — 30,108 ratings — published 2017 — 30 editions
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Not That Bad: Dispatches fr...

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4.43 avg rating — 22,446 ratings — published 2018 — 29 editions
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An Untamed State

4.07 avg rating — 19,629 ratings — published 2014 — 30 editions
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Ayiti

4.27 avg rating — 8,152 ratings — published 2011 — 14 editions
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Graceful Burdens

4.04 avg rating — 5,484 ratings — published 2020 — 4 editions
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Opinions: A Decade of Argum...

3.99 avg rating — 3,796 ratings — published 2023 — 3 editions
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Black Panther: World of Wak...

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3.75 avg rating — 3,002 ratings — published 2017 — 6 editions
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The Best American Short Sto...

3.98 avg rating — 2,041 ratings — published 2018 — 5 editions
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Roxane’s Recent Updates

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Discipline by Larissa Pham
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It is lovely to see Larissa Pham blessing us with a novel. Like her nonfiction, the prose in Discipline is both lush and precise. There is a satisfying inferiority to this novel and a fascinating structure as Christine goes on a book tour for her deb ...more
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Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Black Flame
by Gretchen Felker-Martin (Goodreads Author)
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Black Flame is this genre at it's best, forcing us to confront the horrors of humanity through an elegantly written, deeply visceral and haunting story. That it takes a horror-filled exploitation film for Ellen Kramer, the protagonist, to confront al ...more
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A Suit or a Suitcase by Maggie  Smith
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A Suit or a Suitcase is a really confident, satisfying collection of poems. Not a word or idea is out of place and the title poem is a real standout.
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Archive of Desire by Robin Coste Lewis
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A lush book-length poem in four parts that channels,
In part, Constantin Cavafy but then becomes its own wondrous thing. An archive of desire, indeed.
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The Other Love by Henri Cole
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A deeply satisfying and assured collection of poems.
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Ecstasy by Ivy Pochoda
Ecstasy
by Ivy Pochoda (Goodreads Author)
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I did enjoy this book and I am a massive fan of the author. What works well here is the writing, of course, and the crisp details. I felt like we were in Greece moving back and forth between the beach and a luxury hotel. Lena and Hedy and Jordan are ...more
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The L Word by Jennifer Beals
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As someone who loved The L Word it was a real pleasure to see such candid photography from behind the scenes, alongside informal conversations between the various cast members. The book is organized by season, all from Bette Porter's perspective (yes ...more
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Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno
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This was not only a memoir about surviving childhood sexual abuse but also an incisive work of cultural criticism. The style and structure are quite unique. I’ve never read a book like this that is so wry and haunted and clear-eyed. It’s another remi ...more
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My Documents by Kevin  Nguyen
My Documents
by Kevin Nguyen (Goodreads Author)
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It’s always interesting when a novel written years before the present day is uncannily prescient. Such is the case here with this very compelling novel about an extended Vietnamese family and how their lives are derailed by a mass internment of the V ...more
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When the Harvest Comes by Denne Michele Norris
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This is a beautiful, deeply heartfelt and resonant story about so many things but especially how trauma can keep a person from living their lives as their trust self. It's about love and finding home and safety in another. It's about family and how i ...more
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Quotes by Roxane Gay  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“I embrace the label of bad feminist because I am human. I am messy. I’m not trying to be an example. I am not trying to be perfect. I am not trying to say I have all the answers. I am not trying to say I’m right. I am just trying—trying to support what I believe in, trying to do some good in this world, trying to make some noise with my writing while also being myself.”
Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist

“I believe feminism is grounded in supporting the choices of women even if we wouldn’t make certain choices for ourselves.”
Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist: Essays

“It’s hard to be told to lighten up because if you lighten up any more, you’re going to float the fuck away.”
Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist: Essays

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“There is no reason for you to try to become like white people and there is no basis whatever for their impertinent assumption that they must accept you. The terrible thing, old buddy, is that you must accept them. And I mean that very seriously. You must accept them and accept them with love. For these innocent people have no other hope. They are, in effect, still trapped in a history which they do not understand; and until they understand it, they cannot be released from it. They have had to believe for many years, and for innumerable reasons, that black men are inferior to white men. Many of them, indeed, know better, but, as you will discover, people find it very difficult to act on what they know.”
James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time

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Comments (showing 1-9)    post a comment »
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message 9: by modes

modes so happy you're coming to pittsburgh and looking forward to speaking with you soon (i'm with the city paper and your publicist has been kind enough to help facilitate an interview)! absolutely loving "difficult women."


Roxane Thank you, Evelyn!

Evelyn wrote: "I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying An Untamed State. I am reading it for my book club so I'm torn between wanting to read it very slowly and carefully, taking time to digest all t..."


Evelyn I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying An Untamed State. I am reading it for my book club so I'm torn between wanting to read it very slowly and carefully, taking time to digest all the tidbits, and wanting to devour it all in one sitting. I am completely enthralled (at the half-way point) and so eager to continue reading; I can already tell this will be one of my favorite books of the year! :)


message 6: by R.B.

R.B. Anderson Hi Roxanne,
An Untamed State sound like a powerful read and I have added it to my Want list.

Thank you for befriending me.
RBA


message 5: by Dean

Dean Pusell Thank you for being my friend Roxane :))). Peace


Jaimie Teekell I don't tumbl, so I have no way of commenting to yours though I'm subscribed via RSS. As a single writer living alone who feels like she has no life and cooks for herself and shit, I loved your latest. Not that balance isn't important, but I'm sure the people out there with "lives," the ones who can think at all, think, "I should do something with my life" now and again. You inspired me to make chocolate chip cookies. I wanted to yesterday but I thought, "What's the point?" Your post wasn't really even about doing something for yourself. It was mostly just the yummy pictures.


message 3: by Erin (last edited Jun 20, 2013 11:13PM)

Erin Enjoyed your article in Salon about Paula Deen. Was excited to realize that I recognized your name from Goodreads and that I intend to read your fiction someday!


Roxane Thanks!



message 1: by Jason

Jason Jordan Welcome to Goodreads, Roxane. :)


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