“We have this romantic idea that all blacks should be radicals. Get the fuck out of here!”

—from Melvin Van Peebles' “Making It”

 

TRANSITION 79: Table of Contents

 

DISPATCHES____________________

Letter From Nowhere
August 6, 1961: on the tiny South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, a long-dormant volcano erupted; the entire population took refuge just outside swinging London. Two years later, the exiles voted to return to earth’s remotest island. Gregory Rodriguez visits the brave old world of Tristan da Cunha.

The Streets
Little boys sniff industrial solvent from paper bags. Little girls shower in the sewers. In Bucharest, the stepchildren of Communism live outside the law: ignored by the state and despised by the people. Akash Kapur travels among the kids who sleep beneath Romania’s streets.
Photographs by Andrea Mosso

MEMOIR____________________

The Distance
One smoky night in Washington D.C., dozens of boxers gathered to fight, preen, and bask in the glory of yesterday’s triumphs. Equal parts fire and composure, they measured their steps and husbanded their powers. Carlo Rotella reflects on old age, perseverance, and the grandmotherly art of fisticuffs.

POSITION____________________

Republic at Sea
As the nations of Europe merge currencies and citizens, national borders are increasingly indistinct. But on the western edge of Europe–in the French provinces of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Guiana–the border is a color line. Laurent Dubois considers the crisis of French identity politics.

UNDER REVIEW____________________

Louder Than Bombs
Who doesn’t love Indian writing? Who can resist the spicy narratives, the exorbitant language, the exotic locales–and the hefty advances from publishers? As the Western world hastens to embrace Rushdie’s children, Amitava Kumar appraises the hullabaloo.

The Mountain
In death, James Baldwin has become everybody’s Jimmy. But in his lifetime, he was a permanent outsider, pilloried by left and right: too black, too white, too militant, too gay. Lewis Nkosi remembers the life and legacy of James Baldwin
Photographs by Sedat Pakay

One Hundred Years of Platitude
Another day, another coffee-table book about the twentieth century: everywhere, the vulgar sounds of history-making in the making. Might the millennial madness obscure the awkward fact that we live in unimportant times? Tom Scocca essays the literature of Y2K.

FICTION____________________

Kolo
Two girls, one secret.
By Muhonjia Khaminwa

The Seven Dreams of Elmira
A Martinican tale of rum and spirits.
By Patrick Chamoiseau

CONVERSATION____________________

Making It
When Melvin Van Peebles made a movie called Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, he jump-started African American cinema and changed Hollywood forever. But filmmaking is just one of his interests: he’s also a novelist, a cabaret singer, and the first black trader on the American Stock Exchange; he might have invented rap music, too. James Suroweicki talks with him about hip hop, options trading, and the business of blaxploitation.

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