The story is beautiful and pointed, and has earned starred reviews. The novel, Asim ‘s first since 2015 ‘s “Only the Strong,” focuses on a small group of slaves, though they don ‘t refer to themselves as such - they call themselves “the Stolen,” their masters, “The Thieves.” The narrative moves back and forth between the perspectives of the Stolen, as they consider the ideas of freedom presented to them by a visiting preacher, who may not be quite a preacher, or may not be only a preacher. He deftly brings all of this experience, these forces, to “Yonder.” He is a professor, the MFA program director, an Elma Lewis Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice, and the program director of the school ‘s James Baldwin Writers Colony. His email signature runs seven items deep. These days, he is a professor at local Emerson College, where you will not be surprised to learn that he wears many hats. In other words, while many people claim to have been there and done that, Asim truly embodies the phrase. He has been a Guggenheim fellow, a National Book Awards voter, and a vice president of the National Book Critics Circle. During his time at the latter newspaper, he was the only African-American books editor in the country. He has been the deputy books editor for The Washington Post and was the book editor of the St. In the past, he has been the editor-in-chief of The Crisis magazine - the NAACP ‘s flagship journal of politics, culture, and ideas that was founded by W.E.B. But at various times throughout his life he has also been a poet, playwright, editor, critic, and professor. To be sure, Asim is certainly a prolific author, and has authored more than 20 books across multiple genres – fiction, non-fiction, children ‘s fiction, children ‘s non-fiction essays, memoirs, novels, history, short stories, cultural criticism, etc. That applies to Asim as well, as simply calling him an author is woefully insufficient. 8 takeaways from the ‘Woodrow on the Bench’ discussion with author Jenna Blum

Only the Strong by Jabari Asim