Black Is the Body

Emily Bernard proves herself a gifted storyteller and a gifted narrator. This moving reading of her own essays is laced with nuance, emotion, and her ongoing struggle with the topics she addresses. As a graduate student at Yale, Bernard was one of seven victims of a random stabbing attack at a local coffee shop. Though it was traumatizing and painful, she also notes that the attack released her narrative power to explore the truth of bodies white and black living in America and how those bodies shape our knowledge of ourselves and each other across generations. These essays are full of powerful memories and thought-provoking challenges. Bernard guides the listener with a calm, earnest tone that seems like a conversation with a wise friend. B.E.K. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine