I Finally Bought Some Jordans: Essays

The distinctive voice of essayist Arceneaux (I Don’t Want to Die Poor) enlivens his agile latest collection. “Please Unblock Me, Toni Braxton” discusses how Arceneaux’s rising profile over the past several years has led to sometimes awkward interactions with such celebrities as Don Lemon and Kevin Hart, whom he’s written critically about. “How It Feel Outside?” strikes a more soulful tone, meditating on how talking about such mundane topics as the weather allows Arceneaux to maintain his relationship with his alcoholic father and religious mother, whom he sometimes struggles to hold more personal conversations with because they remain reluctant to acknowledge that he’s gay. In the standout “DMJ,” Arceneaux uses an annoying neighbor who frequently woke him up after getting locked out of her apartment as a springboard to interrogate the complex relationships that result from living in cities, reporting that while he bonded with two neighbors on his Harlem block who “functioned like play-aunties,” he was exhausted by the constant noise (first of neighbors fighting, then of sirens as the pandemic set in) and decided to move to California. Arceneaux’s acerbic wit sizzles (to those who questioned why he relocated to wildfire-prone L.A., he responds, “At least I have a lovely view of a burning world”), and he balances the humor with heartfelt reflection. This packs a punch. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Mar.)