Writing tip no. 9: Find a fragment of a poem from the time period you are studying, one that embodies a theme or two of your investigation, and write a paragraph, a section, or a chapter around it. Make that poem sing its historical significance.
Writing tip #8 : Embodiment. Anytime you can make an idea or a concept come alive through a person or an event, do it. An argument made through vivid, concrete human thought and action is much more powerful and memorable than a dry abstraction.
Today, March 10, is the publication day for the UK edition of my book *Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea*, by @versobooks.bsky.social . I’ll be in the UK the last two weeks of April. I'll post the dates/times of my book talks soon.
www.versobooks.com/products/343...
I agree completely, Surekha. Most all scholars are trained to write for small, specialist audiences, which is fine because that's one waste scholarship advances. But it's not enough.
Writing tip #7: When, during the course of research, you come across a story that is central to the theme of your book, go ahead and write 2-3 pages about it. If you do this consistently, you’ll accumulate building blocks for the book. You’ll eventually find a place for each one.
Writing tip #6: In my view, the essential unit of good writing is the paragraph. If you’re stuck, spinning your wheels, write one strong paragraph, just one, about whatever topic you are on. In my experience, this breaks the logjam and allows thoughts to flow onto the page.
Writing tip no. 5: When I know what I want to write about the following morning, I reread my primary sources closely the night before. This makes it easier to get started the next day, and sometimes the unconscious mind does a stunning job of sorting things out.
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!
