Anand Prahlad je autorem oceňované paměti, která se zabývá černou identitou a autismem. Jeho práce zkoumá propojení mezi folklórem, jazykem a osobní zkušeností, často se zaměřením na marginalizované hlasy a kulturní tradice. Prahladův styl je známý svou hloubkou, poetickou kvalitou a interdisciplinárním přístupem, který propojuje jeho zájmy o literaturu, hudbu a folklórní studia. Jeho tvůrčí psaní často vychází z jeho zkušeností a nabízí jedinečný pohled na témata identity a kulturního dědictví.
The encyclopedia explores the rich tapestry of African American folklore, tracing its evolution over 240 years from the era of slavery to contemporary culture. It features accessible entries on essential aspects of this heritage, highlighting folklore rooted in African traditions as well as those developed in the United States. Through its comprehensive coverage, the work underscores the profound influence of these stories and traditions on American culture.
Anand Prahlad was born on a former plantation in Virginia in 1954. This memoir, vividly internal, powerfully lyric, and brilliantly impressionistic, is his story. For the first four years of his life, Prahlad didn’t speak. But his silence didn’t stop him from communicating—or communing—with the strange, numinous world he found around him. Ordinary household objects came to life; the spirits of long-dead slave children were his best friends. In his magical interior world, sensory experiences blurred, time disappeared, and memory was fluid. Ever so slowly, he emerged, learning to talk and evolving into an artist and educator. His journey takes readers across the United States during one of its most turbulent moments, and Prahlad experiences it all, from the heights of the Civil Rights Movement to West Coast hippie enclaves to a college town that continues to struggle with racism and its border state legacy. Rooted in black folklore and cultural ambience, and offering new perspectives on autism and more, The Secret Life of a Black Aspie will inspire and delight readers and deepen our understanding of the marginal spaces of human existence.