Memory Librarian

I approached this book with some skepticism. In general, I'm skeptical of celebrities, even celebrities like Janelle Monáe. And more skeptical of celebrities who try to write books. My skepticism increased when I saw the five stories comprising this volume were co-authored by Monáe, with a different author contributing to each piece. At the same time, I really enjoyed the Dirty Computer Emotion Picture, but was unsure how well Monáe and her co-writers would pull off creating narrative worlds based off an album concept. Quite well is the answer.

I genuinely enjoyed each of these five stories. My skepticism has proven unwarranted. There is beauty, creativity, music, rebellion, love, vision, and authenticity running through these texts. There are the subalterns, the persecuted creating new worlds in the shell of the old, fighting back against a world in which they are not welcome and are targeted for erasure. There is queer, trans, and Black joy, resilience, and refusal. There are the dirty computers showing us the way through this storm of oppression, hatred, fascism, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, transphobia, and misogynoir, showing us the potential end of this world and what possible new worlds might emerge or are already waiting for us.