Author:Courttia Newland,Kadija Sesay
A celebratory 20th anniversary edition of A landmark collection from black writers across the literary spectrum
'The fact that IC3, the police identity for Black, is the only collective term that relates to our situation here as residents ('Black British' is political and refers to Africans, Asians, West Indians, Americans and sometimes even Chinese) is a sad fact of life I could not ignore' from Courttia Newland's Introduction, 2000
First published twenty years ago into a different literary landscape, IC3 showcases the work of more than 100 black British authors, celebrating their lasting contributions to literature and British culture. It spans a wealth of genres to demonstrate the range and astonishing literary achievements of black writers, including:
Poetry from Roger Robinson, Bernardine Evaristo, Jackie Kay and Benjamin Zephaniah.
Short stories from Ferdinand Dennis, Diana Evans, Catherine Jonson, E.A. Markham and Ray Shell.
Essays from Floella Benjamin, Linda Bellos, Treva Etienne, Kevin Le Gendre and Labi Siffre.
Memoirs from Margaret Busby, Henry Bonsu, Buchi Emecheta, Leone Ross, and many others.
Featuring a new introduction from original editors Kadija Sesay and Courttia Newland, this collection reflects on the legacy of these writers, their extraordinary work, and stands as a reminder that black British writers remain underrepresented in literature today.
She creates a rich tapestry, weaving art and science, past and present. And she always seems to connect to something close to home.
—— Carla Carlyle, SpectatorHe can perform prodigies. He can fascinate us by pure evocation, by the tensity of the situation
—— Times Literary SupplementHemingway's style, at its best, is a superb vehicle for revealing tenderness of feeling beneath descriptions of brutality
—— GuardianA revealing look at a beloved, mysterious writer.
—— Mail Online[M]odest and self-abnegating.
—— TelegraphOrwell saw … that the act of falsifying reality is only secondarily a way of changing perceptions. It is, above all, a way of asserting power
—— Adam Gopnik , New Yorker[Orwell fought] the evils of the world and the weakness of his body to the day of his death, always striving, striving to tell the truth about what he saw and what he felt
—— Nicholas Walter , Anarchy: A Journal of Anarchist Ideas