In "The Black Body" thirty black, white, and biracial contributors celebrate the black body's dramatic role in American culture. Award-winning actors, artists, writers, and comedians-including voices as varied as Obama's inaugural poet Elizabeth Alexander, comedy writer Anne Beatts, "Village Voice" journalist Greg Tate, filmmaker S. Pearl Sharp, award-winning actor Hill Harper, acclaimed writer Kenneth Carroll, and more-come together to offer their personal takes on a fascinating and fundamental question of our times: what does it mean to have, or love, a black body?Ranging from deeply serious to playful, sometimes hilarious musings, these essays explore desire, old age, obesity, sex, hunger, parenting, and friendship with passionate wisdom and a deep sense of history. Meri Nana-Ama Danquah's unprecedented collection illuminates the incredible diversity of identities and individual experiences that define the black body in our culture.