Frank B. Wilderson III will read an excerpt from Afropessimism at The Poetry Project. With the narrative drive of a captivating novel, and the intellectual rigor of critical theory at its best, Afropessimism illustrates how Black death, both real and symbolic, is necessary for the material and psychic life of the Human species — and not just White people. Few writers have the courage to set fire to the world while soaked in kerosene. Frank B. Wilderson III is one of them. Here is the match. Some readers will experience Afropessimism as a high wire act between rage and paranoia. Others will welcome it as a breath of sanity.