Wayétu Moore’s debut novel, She Would Be King (Graywolf Press), is a dazzling retelling of the story of the formation of the country of Liberia.

A spectacular mix of history and magic realism, Moore gives us three unforgettable characters: Gbessa, exiled and snake bit; June Dey, possessed of unusual strength; and Norman Aragon, a biracial Jamaican who can fade from sight at will. Moore brilliantly intertwines their imaginative stories through the tense relationship between the African American settlers and the indigenous tribes, as a new nation forms around them.

Wayétu Moore teaches at the City University of New York’s John Jay College. She lives in Brooklyn.

The members of The Nude Party first came together in the freshman dormitories of Boone, North Carolina’s, Appalachian State University in 2012. The band later took residence at a lake house that often spawned naked jam sessions, hence their name. The group recently released their self-titled album on New West Records.

Rolling Stone said, “their wiry, twangy garage-rock comes free of inhibition, as well it should from a band who once played naked at campus parties back in North Carolina.”
 

Ricky Burkhead