No Sense in Wishing: Essays on Black Music, Belonging, and Baltimore

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker * Kirkus Reviews “Earnest and engaging.” -The New Yorker A personal and analytical essay collection from culture critic Lawrence Burney that is a personal and analytical look at his home city of Baltimore, music from throughout the global Black diaspora, and the traditions that raised him. There are moments in our lives when we discover an artist, an album, a film, or a cultural artifact that leaves a lasting impression.These moments inform how we understand the world, and ourselves, moving forward. In a time when music is spurring Black Americans’ connection with Africans on the Continent, culture critic Lawrence Burney takes us on a journey from the streets of Baltimore to the concert halls of Lagos, reminisces on seeing his mother perform as the opening act of a Gil Scott-Heron show when he was a child, and sits at a Maryland crab feast with family, assessing how the Black people in his home state have historically improvised paths for their l