Thank you to everyone who came out to Malaprop's Bookstore in Asheville last night for "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Conversations like that one are exactly why I love doing these events. #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood #NinaSimone #LangstonHughes

Thank you to everyone who came out to City Lights Bookstore in Sylva yesterday for "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." I'm grateful for every person who showed up and for the time to talk about this book. It was a good room to be in. #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood #NinaSimone #LangstonHughes

Had a great time at "ReVIEWING Black Mountain College" in Asheville, sharing Langston Hughes's unknown 1949 visit. Still in town tonight: Malaprop's Bookstore, 7-8 PM, talking about Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. Link in comments to RSVP. #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood #LangstonHughes

I'm Heading to Asheville this week. I'll be at Malaprop's Bookstore on Monday, October 5, from 7 to 8 PM talking about "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Would love to see you there. Link in bio to RSVP. #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood #Asheville #NinaSimone #LangstonHughes

I'll be at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC on Sunday, October 4 at 1 PM, presenting "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood: Nina Simone, Langston Hughes, and the Birth of Black Power." Would love to see you there. Link in bio for details. #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood #NinaSimone #LangstonHughes

Thank you to everyone who packed Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh last night. Celebrating with NC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green was a night I won't forget. Go get the book, link in comments. Catch me next at "ReVIEWING Black Mountain College" in Asheville, Oct 2-4. #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood

It's here! "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is officially out today! I can't quite put into words how much this means. This book took years, and I'm endlessly grateful to everyone who supported it and believed in this story. Grab your copy today. Link in comments. #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood...

What a way to kick off launch week. Thank you to everyone who came out to Busboys and Poets last night, and to Gayle Wald for a conversation I'll be thinking about for a long time. The book comes out tomorrow. #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood

Heading to Asheville for the "ReVIEWING Black Mountain College" conference, Oct 2-4. I'll be presenting on Langston Hughes's unknown 1949 visit to Black Mountain College. A story that never quite made it into the record. #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood #LangstonHughes

"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" officially comes out in two days, and I'll be at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh to celebrate! Music journalist Dave Menconi is kicking things off, and I'll be in conversation with NC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green. Link in bio to RSVP.

Just spent a full hour on Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins (WFAE), talking about "The Friendship and Collaboration of Nina Simone and Langston Hughes." With Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood arriving Monday, the timing feels perfect. Link in comments. #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood

DC, I'll be at Busboys and Poets on 14th and V on Sunday, September 27, in conversation with Gayle Wald about "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Doors at 5:30, program starts at 6, followed by Q&A and a signing. Free and open to everyone. Copies of the book will be available. RSVP link in bio.

This is the kind of event that makes me excited to tour "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Met poet Mary Lindsay (Peewee) at the Oxford, NC public library. She recalled meeting Langston Hughes in 1954, when he read her poems for 20 to 30 minutes. Out Sept 29. Grab your copy, link in comments

Even the Smithsonian got this one wrong at first. This is the Sheraton afterparty, March 1964, after Nina Simone's Carnegie Hall show. Langston Hughes, Nina Simone, and Godfrey Cambridge pictured. Research for this book corrected the record. Out Sept 29. Grab your copy, link in...

Had such a great time recording a conversation with Leoneda Inge at WUNC Radio, and it's coming out September 29, the same day "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" hits shelves! I cannot wait for you all to hear it. Stay tuned for more details! #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood #NinaSimone #LangstonHughes

A March 1964 CORE poster for an evening of readings by Langston Hughes, with songs by Gilbert Price, star of "Jericho-Jim Crow." Held at Wollman, Columbia University. Details like this shaped "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," my book on Simone and Hughes. Out Sept 29, link in comments.

A handwritten card from Nina Simone to Langston Hughes, thanking him for sending "Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz." A small object, but it captures something real about who they were to each other. A few weeks left until you can hold the whole story. Out Sept 29. Grab your copy, link in comments.

2 AM, Lagos, Nigeria, December 1961. Nina Simone stepping off the plane for the AMSAC Music Festival, her first trip overseas, made possible by Langston Hughes. Two weeks until this story is out in the world. Out Sept 29. Grab your copy, link in comments. #NinaSimone

Nina Simone had a roommate in the early 1980s: Mary Burnette, dead center in her graduating class photo. A year older than Nina, they traveled together during that stretch. Details like this are part of what this book tries to capture. Out Sept 29. Grab your copy, link in comments. #NinaSimone

From my research fellowship at the National Humanities Center, Durham, NC, 2022-23. That scroll is my "voodoo map," connecting Hughes and Simone, basically what this book grew out of. Grateful for the support that made it possible. Out Sept 29. Pre-Order ink in Comments. #NinaSimone

Dr. King himself wrote this letter, personally inviting Langston Hughes to march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Hughes said yes, flying in with Art Duga, Nina Simone, and Al Shackman. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Out Sept 29. Grab your copy, link in comments. #NinaSimone #LangstonHughes

It's almost here. September means pub month for "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" officially starts!! Been a long time coming, and it's finally about to be in your hands. I cannot wait for you to read it. September 29. Link in bio to pre-order!! #DontLetMeBeMisunderstood #NinaSimone #LangstonHughes

What a night. Thank you to everyone who came out Friday, and to Rocky Mount for the warmth and welcome. Thanks to Herbert Tillman, filmmaker Rebecca Cetese, and Rev. Tolokum Omakunde for the great conversation, and to Councilmen Reuben Blackwell and Andre Knight for being there...

Poets don't usually end up in liquor ads. Langston Hughes did. October 1959, Ebony magazine, an ad campaign for Smirnoff vodka, not long after "A Raisin in the Sun" opened, its title drawn from his poem "Harlem." Out Sept 29. #LangstonHughes

A hand-drawn map by Langston Hughes, tracking his walk to catch Charles Mingus at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival. Nina Simone ended up there too, playing an impromptu midnight set with Little Richard so packed police surrounded the building. Out Sept 29. #NinaSimone #LangstonHughes

Langston Hughes had just died. Nina Simone walked on stage and debuted a song no one had heard. At the 1967 Newport Jazz Festival, she dedicated the set to him and played "Backlash Blues" live, before it was out on vinyl. Out Sept 29. Link in bio. #NinaSimone #LangstonHughes

Getting ready for tomorrow night's screening of "Origin of the Dream" at Rocky Mount Mills Powerhouse. With Yalem Kiros, co-owner of The Prime Steakhouse next door, a great spot for dinner before or after. Fri, Aug 28, 7:30 PM. #OriginOfTheDream

"Origin of the Dream," the PBS doc about Dr. King's 1962 visit to Rocky Mount, is now available for everyone as part of America 250. Watch anytime, link in comments, or catch it on PBS NC Thu Aug 27, 9:30 PM. Screening Aug 28 at Rocky Mount Mills too. #OriginOfTheDream

I joined TC Spotlight to talk about "Origin of the Dream," and the episode is live now. Give it a listen, link in bio. #OriginOfTheDream #RockyMountNC

If you're in the Rocky Mount area, come out for a screening of "Origin of the Dream," the PBS documentary I worked on, at Rose Hill Power House this Friday, August 28 at 7:30 PM. Presented by Twin County Media and Explore Nash County. Would love to see you there. #OriginOfTheDream #RockyMountNC