When Emmett Till was murdered aged fourteen for allegedly whistling at a white woman, photographs of his destroyed face became a flashpoint in the civil rights movement. A decade earlier Emmett's father, Louis, had also been killed - court-martialled and hanged. Though the circumstances could hardly have been more different, behind both deaths stood the same crime, of being black.
In Writing to Save a Life, John Edgar Wideman, born the same year as Emmett Till, investigates the tragic fates of father and son. Mixing research, memoir and imagination, this book is an essential commentary on racism in America - illuminating, humane and profound.
- ISBN10 178689372X
- ISBN13 9781786893727
- Publish Date 3 May 2018 (first published 15 November 2016)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Canongate Books Ltd
- Imprint Canongate Canons
- Edition Main - Canons
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 208
- Language English