Ray Shell

Celebrating the centenary of the birth of the trailblazing African American author, Encounters with James Baldwin is a wide-ranging volume of short essays, reflections, interviews and poetry. This moving collection demonstrates the significant legacy of the writer and activist who spoke truth to power during the era of the fight for Black civil liberties in the US, and after.In this literary anthology, over 30 contributors reveal the influence of Baldwin's thought, speech and writing to their personal journeys and their awareness of the need for social justice.Authors included: Victor Adebowale; Toyin Agbetu; Rosanna Amaka; Michelle Yaa Asantewa; Lindsay Barrett; Eugen Bacon; Gabriella Beckles-Ray; Alan Bell; Selina Brown; Michael Campbell; Fred D’Aguiar; Thomas Glave; Sonia Grant; Zita Holbourne; Rashida Ismaili-AbuBakr; Paterson Joseph; Peter Kalu; Roy McFarlane; Ronnie McGrath; Michael McMillan; Tony Medina; Bill V Mullen; Nducu wa Ngugi; Lola Oh; Ewuare X. Osayande; Nii Ayikwei Parkes; Anton Phillips; Ray Shell; SuAndi; Tade Thompson; Patrick Vernon; Tony Warner.

A searing work of modern fiction tracing a man's decline into the depths of addiction

"Iced is a powerhouse. . . . Ray Shell writes beautifully. The story is heartbreaking. I kept putting it down and picking it up again--it won't let me go."--Maya AngelouA timeless tale of one man's decline into the depths of addiction that is at both a shocking study of the addict's life, and a deeply compelling and often uplifting tale of human love and loss.First published at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic thirty years ago, Ray Shell's "powerhouse" (Maya Angelou) of a novel is as timely and relevant today as it was in 1994. It is the story of Cornelius Washington, a young upper-middle-class Black man blessed with burning talent and ambition, who enjoys experimenting with drugs--a dangerous pastime that gradually becomes a destructive addiction. Now a middle-aged crackhead, Cornelius ponders his life and the choices that have led him here.Written as a series of immersive stream of consciousness diary entries, Iced captures the despair and dashed dreams of a man caught between the harsh realities of his present and the adventures and upheavals of his past--a youth marked by a host of characters both intriguing and terrifying.A complicated man both compelling and maddening, sympathetic and defiant, Cornelius tries desperately to break free from his addiction, a struggle that ends in defeat time and time again. Despite the thought loops that lead to his bad choices, this painfully realistic character elicits hope for his survival, even though he will likely meet a devastating end.Resonant and haunting, illuminating and heartbreaking, Iced paints a portait of being Black in America, and the ways in which marginalized communities are targeted and ignored, left to suffer the consequences of policies made by powerful people ignorant and uncaring of their lives. It is a novel that transcends time, offering a glimpse of the past that is present in our lives today.