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Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues for TheAtlantic.com and the magazine. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. More

Born in 1975, the product of two beautiful parents. Raised in West Baltimore—not quite The Wire, but sometimes ill all the same. Studied at the Mecca for some years in the mid-’90s. Emerged with a purpose, if not a degree. Slowly migrated up the East Coast with a baby and my beloved, until I reached the shores of Harlem. Wrote some stuff along the way.

Even Though We Had Fun In 91...

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Mar 31 2009, 8:21 AM ET Comment

Folks always note my penchant for announcing my public appearances at the last possible instant. (Reading in Cumberland, Maryland in two minutes! Catch it if you can!!) In an attempt to actually get people to come out, I'm offering advance warning. Next Tuesday evening I'll be in Brooklyn, at the Court Street Barnes & Nobles, reading with Adam Mansbach. I'll be, as always, hawking copies of The Beautiful Struggle.

Sorta. Actually, I'll also be previewing a project I'm working on--The Beautiful Remix. The idea is to take a few chapters from my book and do what Kid Hood did for Tribe in 92. Could be shockingly awesome and revealing. Could be shockingly derivative and redundant. Who knows until it's done. I'm not even sure how I, or if, I'm going to publish it. I may just throw it up on the blog. The more important point is that I'm having fun working on it, which is really all that matters. Takes me back to being a 16 again, when all I wanted was to do something like this. Feh, who am I kidding, even today, all I want is to do something like this.



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