Mixing It Up: Taking On the Media Bullies and Other Reflections

ISHMAEL REED is author of six books of poetry, one opera libretto in verse, six plays, four books of essays and nine novels, and is the editor of numerous anthologies and magazines. His poetry collaborations with musicians have resulted in three CD collections recently reissued by Rounder Records, and the forthcoming "Conjure III" from Blue Note. He has been awarded a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Award, and has been a Pulitzer Prize nominee in poetry and a National Book Award finalist in both poetry and fiction. In 2001, he received a Chancellor's Award for Community Service from the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1969. In 2003, he received the Otto Award for Political Theater, and in 2004, he received the Robert Hirsch
Award from theLos Angeles Times.

Rain Taxi, Winter issue
“Ishmael Reed’s writing is a nearly irresistible force. Anyone who wants to read Reed seriously had better come prepared with facts, an open mind, and perhaps even a seatbelt…An adept mix of documentation and outrage shapes most of the pieces…[Reed’s] observations come in many registers, from the strident to the cool…In his ability to pull the comfortable rug out from under his readers and make us aspire to a higher ground of understanding, Reed is one of our most essential and irreplaceable voices.”

Magill Book Reviews
"Perceptive essays about social issues and media missteps, reminding readers why he is a provocative, respected writer, and thinker. It is tempting to compare Ishmael Reed to voices as varied as Mark Twain, Paul Robeson, or Susan Sontag, but that is incomplete and unfair to Reed. He is distinctive and fresh in his own right…This collection is less about race than sense…Spirited and bold throughout, never failing to enlighten…As an anthology, it is a treasure.”