Daniel Black Presents His New Book, Isaac's Song

Daniel Black is one of the most prolific modern writers and speakers that I have been fortunate enough to encounter. Maybe you’ve seen his viral commencement speech this summer (and if you haven’t I urge you to! It is completely captivating, part sermon, part affirmation where he references the Bible right beside Kendrick Lamar). If you were moved by his poignant novel Don’t Cry For Me, a striking letter from a Black dying father to his estranged gay son, or his piercing essay collection Black on Black, on racial tension in America, you will be glad to hear that he has a new novel coming this Winter.

It feels like an immense privilege to be able to tell you about ISSAC’S SONG (On-sale: January 28, 2024; Hanover Square Press). This is a hope-infused, triumphant coming-of-age story about a young Black gay man, in 1980s Chicago, who learns to love himself in a world that tells him he is unworthy. It grapples with themes of family, race, queerness, self-love and forgiveness amid the backdrop of the AIDS crisis.

As Don’t Cry for Me was told from the perspective of a dying father writing letters to his estranged son, ISAAC’S SONG is that son’s story. Like Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead or Jennifer Eagan’s The Candy House, this novel marks a return to some of Black’s beloved characters, but is a stand-alone novel.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Isaac is at a crossroads in his young life. Growing up in Missouri, the son of a caustic, hard-driving father, he was conditioned to suppress his artistic pursuits and physical desires, notions that didn’t align with a traditional view of masculinity. But now, in late 80s Chicago, Isaac has finally carved out a life of his own. He is sensitive and tender-hearted and has built up the courage to seek out a community. Yet just as he begins to embrace who he is—two social catalysts—the AIDS crisis and Rodney King’s attack—collectively extinguish his hard-earned joy.

At a therapist’s encouragement, Isaac begins to write down his story. In the process, he taps into a creative energy that will send him on a journey back to his family, his ancestral home in Arkansas, and the inherited trauma of the nation’s dark past. But a surprise discovery will either unlock the truths he’s seeking, or threaten to derail the life he’s fought so hard to claim.

Poignant, sweeping and luminously told, Isaac’s Song marks a return to the beloved characters of Don’t Cry for Me, and a highwater mark in the career of an award-winning author.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Daniel Black is an author and professor of African American studies at Clark Atlanta University. His novels include Don't Cry for Me, an Indie Next and Book of the Month Club pick, as well as The Coming, Perfect Peace and They Tell Me of a Home. He is the winner of the Distinguished Writer Award from the Middle-Atlantic Writer's Association and has been nominated for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, the Ernest J. Gaines Award, and the Georgia Author of the Year Award. He was raised in Blackwell, Arkansas, and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

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