Francesca T. Royster’s Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions is a vital read that helps us to understand how country music got whitewashed, stripping it of its distinctly African American origins in slavery and its aftermath, and shows us how embracing that history will only enrich the form. Royster weaves Black, queer, and feminist scholarship into her analysis, but even more compellingly, she brings her own experiences as a Black, queer country fan to bear on her exploration of Black artists in country’s past and present. Through engaging essays, she explores Tina Turner’s country album, Darius Rucker’s Black bro image, Our Native Daughters’ history-steeped banjo music, and Lil’ Nas X’s fight to be considered country.

The DePaul University English professor talks to Pop Literacy about what inspired her  book, shares some of her favorite country music memories (like a set visit to Hee Haw!), and recommends some of her favorite country artists to add to your playlists.

Read more:

• Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions by Francesca T. Royster
• Little Golden Books pop biographies on celebrities like Carol Burnett, Betty White, Beyonce, Dwayne Johnson, William Shatner, Taylor Swift, Lucille Ball, Simone Biles, Dolly Parton, Bob Ross, Julie Andrews, Tony Bennett, Rita Moreno, Willie Nelson, and Bruce Springsteen
• Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius by Nick Hornby

Pop Literacy is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone. 

TV journalist Michael Ausiello wrote a 2017 memoir called Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies that detailed his 13-year relationship with his husband Kit Cowan, who, in a devastating turn, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and, as the title tells us, died. Not to sound jaded, but there are a lot of memoirs about cancer and death. This book, however, is special because it’s so specific and true and willing to get into the gory details—the goriest being the details of their living, breathing, changing relationship. The heartbreaking ending aside, it’s one of the best memoirs you’ll read about real adults trying to make a long-term relationship work. This book is so vulnerable, so raw, so specific, it just knocks you out.

In this episode, we talk with Mike about this book and the movie adaptation that just came out starring Jim Parsons as Ausiello and Ben Aldridge as Kit. The movie lives up to the book, hitting just the right tone between dark humor and heartbreaking pathos. It’s wonderfully realized by director Michael Showalter and rendered for the screen judiciously by writers Marshall Grant and Dan Savage. We discuss how Ausiello came to share such a vulnerable story with the world, what it was like to see Parsons play a version of himself (in a word: weird), and how much we need more authentic stories about queer couples, and about adult people with relatable problems. 

Read more:

• Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies by Michael Ausiello
• Michael Ausiello on Instagram
• Writer's Bone: The Best Books of 2022

Pop Literacy is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone. 

Consider this a Pop Literacy year-end gift: the recommendation of a deeply engrossing read for the average book fan, an extra fantastic read for writers of all mediums and genres, and a round-up of some of the finest dramas to ever unfold on the small screen. All those things come courtesy of Life’s Work: A Memoir, the personal and professional autobiography – and unofficial writing how-to – from Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Deadwood creator and writer David Milch.

Milch, also a former Yale professor and writer and producer of some of the most iconic episodes of seminal cop dramas like Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blues, shares delicious details behind the scenes of all his TV adventures … but is just as candid about life behind the camera, including a traumatic childhood that sparked many of his TV stories, a decades-long gambling addiction that cost him literally millions of dollars, and, finally, his current struggles with Alzheimer’s, prompting fellow legendary writer Susan Orlean to share of the book, “This is David Milch’s farewell, and it will rock you.” And, as always, we share what else has been topping our to-be-read piles.

Read more:

• Life’s Work: A Memoir by David Milch
• Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir by Matthew Perry
• Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boys, and the New Realities of Girl World by Rosalind Wiseman
• "NYPD Blue" on Hulu
• "Hill Street Blues" on Hulu
• "Deadwood" on HBO Max

Pop Literacy is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.