In It Occurs to Me that I Am America, some of today’s most acclaimed writers and artists consider the fundamental ideals of a free, just, and compassionate democracy through heart-stirring and often provocative original fiction and art. Featuring all-new short stories from more than thirty-five bestselling and award-winning authors as well as daring art, this one-of-a-kind keepsake and coffee table stunner is a stunning exploration of the state of our union and the question of what it really means to be an American.
In an unprecedented collaborative call to action, New York Times bestselling and award-winning authors and artists teamed up to create IT OCCURS TO ME THAT I AM AMERICA: New Stories and Art edited by Jonathan Santlofer (Touchstone Hardcover; January 16, 2018), hailed “New and Noteworthy” by the New York Times (January 21). Literary and artistic luminaries offer their perspectives on the current American political, social, and cultural landscape just in time for the one-year anniversary of the Trump Inauguration and the Women’s March. The book is being published in support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) upon the one-year anniversary of the Women’s March on Washington.
In IT OCCURS TO ME THAT I AM AMERICA, more than fifty of the most acclaimed modern writers (Michael Cunningham, Louise Erdrich, Alice Walker, Neil Gaiman, Ha Jin, Richard Russo, Joyce Carol Oates, Lee Child, Mary Higgins Clark, Julia Alvarez, Walter Mosley, Alice Hoffman, Paul Theroux, and Stephen L. Carter) and artists (Art Spiegelman, Eric Fischl, Roz Chast, Marilyn Minter, and Shahzia Sikander) consider the fundamental ideals of a free, just, and compassionate democracy—through powerful storytelling and illustration.
As the Trump administration threatens to cut arts funding and vilifies a free press as “fake news,” writers and artists are responding, vowing to defend the most basic principles of freedom and justice for all. This book offers an introspective look at what current social and political issues tell us about ourselves and our country in an effort to take back the narrative of what it means to be American in the 21st century.
One of the most powerful stories is “Between Storms” by the legendary Walter Mosley. In the story, he explores a character who remains locked in his apartment too afraid to go out after a hurricane. Michael becomes sucked into a vortex of news and social media before finally meeting an unexpected end.
Various artists and authors who contributed to the book will be touring the U.S. in support of it and it’s mission to support the efforts of the ACLU. See if they are coming to a city near you by clicking here.
Now more than ever, we must ask ourselves:
who are the WE in “We the People” ?
