Lit Riot Press to release (April 26, 2022), Piccolo is Black: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Pop Culture, by Jordan Calhoun.
Like most Black kids who grew up without diverse representation, Jordan Calhoun learned the skill of assigning race to fictional characters. Piccolo, Panthro, Demona, Ursula…he could recognize a Black character when he saw one. He lived in an all-Black city, went to an all-Black school, and could identify characters whose struggles informed his understanding of the Black experience in America.
Piccolo Is Black: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Pop Culture chronicles Calhoun’s journey from his childhood in Detroit, Michigan, as a Seventh-day Adventist to being transferred to private, predominantly white, deeply religious, Seventh-day Adventist schools. He tells his story through the lens of the pop culture he loved and the common adaptations he made while navigating his religious, non-religious, and racial identities. Part homage to the characters he identified with and loved, part celebration of the pop culture—television, movies, music, video games—that influenced his childhood, Piccolo Is Black is an honest, thought-provoking, and often hilarious coming-of-age memoir that celebrates Black identity in America.
“A heartfelt, quick-witted, unfailingly honest meditation on pop culture, faith, and the forces that shape us.” —Nicole Chung, Bestselling Author, All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir
“A beautiful representation of authenticity.” —Omar Holmon, Co-founder, Black Nerd Problems.
“A lesson in truth and a memoir I won’t soon forget…a story full of pointed humor and gutting honesty about navigating multiple worlds and identities.” —Preeti Chhibber, author, The Sinister Substitute, and The Battle of the Bands. Host of Desi Geek Girls and Tar Valon or Bust
“At once heartbreaking and deeply funny.” —Laura Bassett, Editor-in-chief, Jezebel
“A fascinating journey of belief, conviction, and interruption… a meditation on found family and the potential of becoming our true selves.” —William Evans, Co-founder, Black Nerd Problems
Jordan Calhoun is a culture writer living in New York City. He is the Editor-in-Chief at Lifehacker. He publishes a weekly newsletter about ethics and culture on The Atlantic called “Humans Being”. His writing appears in The Atlantic, Huffington Post, Vulture, Black Nerd Problems, Electric Literature, more.
On-sale date, April 26, 2022 | ISBN: 978-1-7351458-1-5
