by Saul Williams
Haymarket Books
9/8/2026, paperback
SKU: 9798888905845
INDEPENDENT PRESS TOP 40 BESTSELLER
Award-winning poet and performer Saul Williams explores how artists today must respond to systemic violence and injustice--in the words of Paul Robeson, by choosing sides.
Songs My Mother Taught Me is Williams' clear-eyed exploration of the role of the artist in these times by answering the question: what radicalized you? He answers by examining how his role models--writers and artists, from Amiri Baraka to local musicians in Brazilian bars to Palestinian hip-hop heads--have responded to imperialist violence, oppression, and genocide. Riffing on Paul Robeson's famous declaration, Williams builds a provocative case for why today's artists cannot remain neutral in the face of injustice. "We need songs that crumble empires," he writes, "films that teach, remind, and inspire, poems that would make a despot revoke your citizenship."
Reviews:
"Saul represents, for so many of us, the boundless potential of a radical imagination unencumbered by the confines of the medium." ―Vic Mensa
"Exquisite and essential reading for the revolution from one of our greatest minds." ―Warsan Shire
"When Saul Williams articulates the bedrock belief that 'a deep-seated love of humanity lies in the heart of every revolutionary, ' you know you can believe him." ―Pearl Cleage
"Songs My Mother Taught Me recharges your political battery! This book is for anyone in search of a new now, anyone who knows art is a form of weaponry, anyone looking to sharpen their practice into a tool that sculpts new worlds." ―Def Sound
"Who must we be in a world premised on individualism and evisceration? In Songs My Mother Taught Me, griot Saul Williams reminds us that rebellion is a choice within reach. Beyond announcing who Saul is, this book asks who the fuck you are." ―Shana L. Redmond
About the Author:
Saul Williams is a Grammy-nominated filmmaker, musician, poet, writer, and actor. Author of said the shotgun to the head and the dead emcee scrolls, Williams is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip-hop, and for his lead roles in the independent film Slam and the jukebox musical Holler If Ya Hear Me. Saul starred as preacher Jedidiah Moore in Ryan Coogler's Sinners. He lives in Los Angeles, California.