‘Meet the Writer: Claudia Rankine’

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Claudia Rankine is one of the most innovative voices of American contemporary poetry. Her book Citizen: An American Lyric holds the distinction of being the only poetry book to be a New York Times bestseller in the nonfiction category. 

Rankine’s work explores what it means to be an American citizen in a “post-racial” society. 

She often crosses genres to interrogate white privilege, well-meaning liberal politics, racism and fragmented selfhood. Whether she writes about intimacy or alienation, her voice is one of unrelenting candour.   

She is also the co-editor of notable anthologies like The Racial Imaginary: Writers on Race in the Life of the Mind and a co-founder of The Racial Imaginary Institute, a think tank for artists and writers who challenge the racial imaginaries of our time. 

Sibo Rugwiza Kanobana will interview her.