This episode features Fiction, Poetry, Narrative Non-Fiction author Nikesha Else Williams, originally live-streamed on October 1, 2022. We met to chat about her new book,Mardi Gras Indians, which was released on October 5, 2022 and published by Louisiana State University Press.
Mardi Gras Indians explores how sacred and secular expressions of Carnival throughout the African diaspora came together in a gumbo-sized melting pot to birth one of the most unique traditions celebrating African culture, Indigenous peoples, and Black Americans. Williams ties together the fragments of the ancient traditions with the expressed experiences of the contemporary. From the sangamentos of the Kongolese and the calumets of the various tribes of the lower
Mississippi River valley to one-on-one interviews with today’s Black masking
tribe members, this book highlights the spirit of resistance and rebellion upon
which this culture was built.
Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy award winning producer, an
award-winning author, and producer and host of the Black & Published podcast.
Nikesha’s latest novel, Beyond Bourbon Street, was awarded Best Fiction by the
Black Caucus of African-American Librarians in the 2021 Self-Published eBook
Literary Awards. It also received the 2020 Outstanding Book Award from the
National Association of Black Journalists. A Chicago native, Nikesha is an
Editor at Narrative Initiative and a columnist with JAX Today. Her work has
also appeared in The Washington Post, ESSENCE, and VOX. She lives in Florida
with her family where she is working on her next novel.
Learn more about Nikesha and her expansive body of work by visiting: www.newwrites.com.
Listen to the Black & Published bonus episode which chronicles Nikesha's journey to Mardi Gras Indians: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Find Nikesha on Instagram: @nikesha_elise
Find Black & Published on Instagram: @blkandpublished
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