Miah Jeffra's newest book is published

January 26, 2023
Miah Jeffra

English lecturer Miah Jeffra's newest book American Gospel (Black Lawrence Press) has been published and will be available March 24, 2023.

A low-income Baltimore neighborhood is targeted for a controversial urban renewal project—an amusement park in the theme of Baltimore itself—that forces its residents to reckon with racism, displacement, and their futures. Peter Cryer is a queer teenager who fantasizes about leaving Baltimore and the instability of his home life while also seeking a place to belong. Ruth Anne, his prickly mother, is terrorized by her estranged husband and the indecision of what to do after the wrecking ball comes through her neighborhood. Thomas, a cleric and History teacher at Peter's school, questions his vocation in the face of the neighborhood's destruction. These three voices braid together a portrait of a neighborhood in flux, the role of community and violence in our time, and the struggles of a very real and oft misunderstood city.