It’s 2023, and my first new published short story in over a year appears in the double-sized Issue 50 of Uncanny Magazine, alongside a host of phenomenal authors. “How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub”—a tale of colonialism, sea monsters, and men of ambition.
Image: “Le Poulpe Colossal,” drawing by Pierre Denys-Montfort, engraved by Étienne Claude Voysard, 1801
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In 1900 a black laborer named Robert Charles set off a massive manhunt after an altercation with New Orleans police. Before all was done, Charles would shoot well over 20 whites sent to apprehend him, killing several. Altogether, 28 people (the exact number is truly unknown) would die in riots, including Charles, who made a last stand in a burning building. The violence that surrounded him continued to swirl and claim others even after his death. The last turbulent days of Charles life would make him a monster to many and a folk hero to others. For black musicians, he became one of the legendary “bad men”–those near mythic black anti-heroes of superhuman capabilities, whose acts of defiance were both celebratory, captivating and frightening.
painting: Cruel Old Stagger Lee, by Van Orno
Phenderson Djèlí Clark 