In Part 2 of our conversation with Jesse McCarthy, we discuss the spiritual and intellectual underpinnings of The Souls of Black Folk and break down common misperceptions about the work. Jesse also explains why he always teaches The Souls of Black Folk with music.

Jesse McCarthy is the editor of the Norton Library edition of The Souls of Black Folk and Assistant Professor in the departments of English and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. He has published articles and reviews in the journals transposition, NOVEL, and African American Review and contributed chapters to Richard Wright in Context and Ralph Ellison in Context  as well as a new introduction for Vincent O. Carter’s long out-of-print memoir The Bern Book. He is also the author of Who Will Pay Reparations on My Soul? , a collection of essays; and a novel, The Fugitivities.

To learn more or purchase a copy of the Norton Library edition ofThe Souls of Black Folk,  go to https://seagull.wwnorton.com/TSOBF.

Learn more about the Norton Library series at https://wwnorton.com/norton-library.

Listen to our Spotify playlist inspired by The Souls of Black Folk: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Jx6YYSrTjRTFqgfWsT3vy?si=f7493ea35a7d4588.

Have questions or suggestions for the podcast? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @TNL_WWN.

Episode transcript at: https://seagull.wwnorton.com/thesoulsofblackfolk/part2/transcript.