The Literary Navigator Device

On September 8 and 9, we hosted the first in our Black Lit Network series of exhibits. We highlighted a key component of the project. 

The Literary Navigator Device is an interactive search tool that allows users to explore and discover works by Black writers, spanning novels, short stories, poems, comic books, memoirs, and essays, based on user preferences. The Navigator expands access to African American literary culture by helping readers discover both well-known and lesser-known works, fostering deeper appreciation, study, and engagement with Black writers across generations.

Access to African American literature has often been limited, with recommendations circulating mainly in classrooms and scholarly circles, leaving the broader public out of reach of these vital works. A tool like the Literary Navigator Device helps change that by making the richness of Black literary history easily discoverable and fostering broader engagement and recognition. 

Afrofuturism as a critical approach includes the study of African American engagements with technology and speculative narratives. The Navigator emerged as an Afrofuturist project, developed to explore how digital tools might merge with Black literary studies. What becomes possible when speculative imagination about Black books meets technological innovation? How might digital platforms extend the reach and accessibility of African American literature? In what ways can Afrofuturist thinking reimagine the future of study and circulation of Black writing?

Related:

• Black Lit Network Exhibits