"When James Baldwin talked about being a witness, Irvin Weathersby's
In Open Contempt is what he meant. With accounts and observations equally enlightening, enraging, harrowing, and hopeful, Weathersby guides the reader through contemporary and historical spaces both public and private with an unflinching veracity. It is, in fact, when he illustrates how the borders between time and distance are artificial, and the 'then' and the 'now' are inexorably linked, that the narrative sings most sublimely.
In Open Contempt is an intelligent implication and a courageous achievement."
--Robert Jones, Jr., New York Times bestselling author of The Prophets, a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction "Irvin Weathersby Jr.'s
In Open Contempt serves up the recipes for a nation starved for clarity and direction, blending history's bitter truths with the sweet promise of art's transformative power. His prose dances between past and present, challenging us to confront the monuments of our minds and the landscapes of our lives. This book sings of resilience and rebellion, calling us to reimagine a future where every story, every struggle, and every soul is honored."
--Frederick Joseph, New York Times bestselling author of Patriarchy Blues "Irvin Weathersby's immersive and incisive
In Open Contempt invites us to look strangely at new or familiar surroundings and become more attuned to the violent and oppressive master narratives planned into our shared spaces. Weathersby meditates on the failures and possibilities of public memory, asking how we can radically reassess who and what matters toward justice and collective healing."
--Nadia Owusu, author of Aftershocks
