The debut novel The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr., a story of Black queer love between two enslaved men in 19th century Mississippi, is garnering rave reviews. Jones says that “oftentimes, from the heterosexual point of view, queerness is something traumatic that happens to you. The truth of the matter is queerness is just a natural state of being, and in the words of Toni Morrison, ‘If you can’t find the book you want to read, you must write it.’” Discussing his novel Jones said that “what I hope readers get out of The Prophets the most is a renewed sense of humanity. Yes, it’s harrowing and the characters go through so much, but it is love that endures.”
https://www.inquirer.com/arts/prophets-novel-robert-jones-jr-kiley-reid-uncle-bobbies-20210108.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/books/robert-jones-jr-the-prophets-son-of-baldwin.html
https://observer.com/2021/01/robert-jones-jr-s-the-prophets-is-a-stunning-debut-of-queer-black-love/
