Black Art Is Lit is where great books by Black authors get the introduction they deserve. Hosted by Nykieria Chaney, each episode is an invitation: hear the summary, experience the full first chapter read aloud, and decide if this is the story you've been looking for.
No reviews. No analysis.
Just the author's words, their craft, and the joy of discovery. Whether you're a lifelong reader or just getting started, this is your weekly gateway to voices that matter, stories that resonate, and books that deserve to be read.
New episodes weekly.
Episodes
Latest Episode
March 19, 2026 · 12m
This week on Black Art Is Lit, we’re reading We Listen & We Don’t Judge by Tony Lamair Burks II. Chapter 1, “The Principal, the Pastor, and the Pep Rally,” places us in a real-time decision where leadership, community expectations, and student safety all collide. What seems like a straightforward moment quickly becomes a deeper question of power, responsibility, and who is actually being protected. In this episode, we move through the chapter and sit with what it asks of us. Not just what we think—but what we would do when there isn’t enough time, enough information, or an option that satisfies everyone. We explore: what it means to make decisions under pressure why there is no such thing as a neutral choice how power shows up in adult and student dynamics and who we choose to center when it matters most While rooted in education, this conversation extends far beyond the classroom. These are the same tensions that show up anywhere people are sharing space and making decisions that impact others. If you’ve ever had to make a call that affected someone else, this episode will sit with you. Black Art Is Lit is a podcast dedicated to reading, reflecting, and discussing Black literature—one chapter at a time.
More Episodes
Feb 26, 2026 · 48m
This week on BlackArt Is Lit, we’re reading Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge, ahistorical fiction novel set in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn.A disciplined Black community. Dangerous medical work. Secrecy as survival.Libertie is growing up under a respected physician mother who can nearly pass. Libertie cannot. After the rescue of Mr. Ben, the stakes become clear and childhood quietly starts to close.This episode explores the novel’s opening pages, including themes of colorism, Black identity, generational pressure, Haitian lineage, organized resistance networks, and what it means to inherit a version of freedom that may not fit you.If you’re reading along: Pay attention to who has access and who does notNotice how information is controlledConsider how skin tone shifts mobility insidethe communityIf you’ve already read Libertie:Did you read the mother as protection or controlWhen did you first see the fracture formingFollow the show, share the episode with someone who reads historical fiction or literature, and join the conversation.
Feb 19, 2026 · 1h 9m
In this episode of Black Art Is Lit, Nykieria Chaney introduces Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane. This historical novel takes place during American slavery and focuses on power, resistance, and the economic system that supported bondage. Within the plantation system, human life is measured by productivity and controlled through both force and narrative. Early tensions around breeding, value, and misinformation surface quickly, revealing how deeply structured this world is. As the story starts, bigger questions emerge. Why do we remember systems of domination more than the organized movements that fought against them? How has misinformation shaped what is remembered and what is erased? Who controls the story?
Feb 13, 2026 · 37m
This week on Black Art Is Lit, we begin Loving Donovan by Bernice L. McFadden. The opening chapter introduces us to admiration, alignment, and the quiet power of first impressions. Everything feels measured. Intentional. Almost seamless. But sometimes desire edits our perception, and first chapters are rarely innocent. As we read, consider what it means to want stability, to be drawn to polish, to trust what appears composed on the surface. What do we notice when we first meet someone? And what do we unconsciously excuse? Not everything announces itself loudly. Some stories move quietly. If you enjoy reading book club discussions, thoughtful literary analysis, and reading the first chapter before committing to the full novel, Black Art is Lit podcast invites you to slow down and pay attention to the details.
Feb 5, 2026 · 19m
In this episode of Black Art is Lit, we're diving into the opening chapter of Deesha Philyaw's award-winning collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.This book resonated with women because it tells the truth about the collision between desire and respectability in church spaces. It's specific, the church mothers, the unspoken rules, the particular texture of shame and grace that shapes Black women's lives. Philyaw gives us permission to see these women as fully human: messy, sexual, faithful, complicated, and real.This isn't a story that eases you in. It names what we've always felt but never heard said out loud. The secrets. The double lives. The desires that don't fit the narrative we were given about who we're supposed to be.What does it mean when two women who identify as straight are having sex with each other? When labels matter more than actions? When the rules shaping how you see yourself aren't even your own?Did the honesty feel freeing or unsettling? Let's talk about it.
Jan 29, 2026 · 1h 12m
This week on Black Art Is Lit, we’re reading The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez.Originally published in the early 1990s, this book entered the literary world at a moment when Black women writers working in speculative and supernatural traditions were rarely centered, and even less often taken seriously. Gomez, an award-winning Black lesbian writer and cultural worker, built a story that has since become a steady presence in college and university classrooms.The Gilda Stories is taught across literature, Black Studies, gender studies, and queer studies courses for how it expands who gets to be at the center of a narrative and what kinds of stories are considered worthy of sustained attention.Subscribe to Black Art Is Lit for weekly readings that trust the listener to think, feel, and decide for themselves.