I thought my conversation with University of Rhode Island Professor of English and Philosophy, James B. Haile III couldn’t get any more twisty after we wrapped recording on a recent episode of the New Books Network, but I was wrong! We managed to get from his new book, The Dark Delight of Being Strange: Black Stories of Freedom (Columbia University Press 2024) to W.E.B. DuBois to Atlanta (the TV show, not the city) to cultural critic, Hanif Abdurraqib, to the mythology of Michael Jordan — with a few other stops in between. Making archival connections with Dr. Haile is almost as much fun as reading his book, which won the 2025 Hugh J. Silverman Book Prize from the Association for Philosophy and Literature, and was a finalist for the 2025 PEN Open Book Award.
In this discussion we reference:
“W.E.B. DuBois’s double consciousness,” which describes the experience of Black and other subordinated groups of constantly seeing one’s self through the eyes of the oppressor.
Dr. Haile’s comment that his forthcoming stories “have no end notes,” refers to his concept of “analytical fiction,” the use of both fictional narrative and philosophical analysis at the same time through robust endnotes that situate fictional stories and theories both historically and intellectually. This approach is discussed and exhibited in detail in The Dark Delight of Being Strange.
Teri Henderson, Black Collagists: The Book (Kanyer Publishing 2021)
Christina Sharpe, Ordinary Notes (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2023)
The FX television show Atlanta “Snipe Hunt” episode (starring Donald Glover (October 20, 2022).
Arthur Jafa is an American video artist and cinematographer.
Nickel Boys is a 2024 film by RaMell Ross. It is adapted from the book, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday 2019).
Sinners is a 2025 film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It takes inspiration from the story of Robert Johnson, a blues singer and songwriter.
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and author of There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension (Random House 2024).
Michael Jordan is a former professional basketball player. He is the inspiration for the “Air Jordan” line of Nike shoes.
Icarus, in Greek mythology, escaped the labyrinth using wings made of wax but, failing to heed warnings, flew too close to the sun, melting his wings, and plunging him to his death.
James Naismith invented the game of basketball.
You can find Dr. Haile at the University of Rhode Island website.
