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One Maryland One Book Discussion and Bookmark Craft

"No Sense in Wishing" by Lawrence Burney

Each year, thousands of Marylanders share in the experience of reading the same book. Discuss this year's selection with fellow readers and make a personalized, playlist-themed bookmark!

This year's selection, No Sense in Wishing by Lawrence Burney, was chosen based on the theme of "Revolution, Reaction, Reform." Burney's collection of personal essays touches on his upbringing in Baltimore, as well as music that has helped shape him:

An essay collection from culture critic Lawrence Burney that is a personal and analytical look at his home city of Baltimore, music from throughout the global Black diaspora, and the traditions that raised him. For fans of Hanif Abdurraqib, Kiese Laymon, and Isaac Fitzgerald.

There are moments throughout our lives when we discover an artist, an album, a film, or a cultural artifact that leaves a lasting impression, helping inform how we understand the world, and ourselves, moving forward. In No Sense in Wishing, Lawrence Burney explores these profound interactions with incisive and energizing prose, offering us a personal and critical perspective on the people, places, music, and art that transformed him. In a time when music is spearheading Black Americans' connection with Africans on The Continent, Burney takes trips to cover the bubbling creative scenes in Lagos and Johannesburg that inspire teary-eyed reflections of self and belonging. Seeing his mother perform as the opening act at a Gil Scott-Heron show as a child inspires an essay about parent-child relationships and how personal taste is often inherited. And a Maryland crab feast with family facilitates an assessment of how the Black people in his home state have historically improvised paths for their liberation.

Taking us on a journey from the streets of Baltimore to the concert halls of Lagos, No Sense in Wishing is a kaleidoscopic exploration of Burney's search for self. With its gutsy and uncompromising criticism alongside intimate personal storytelling, it's like an album that hits all the right notes, from a promising writer on the rise.

You can find a physical or digital copy of the book in our catalog. Please come ready to discuss the book, as well as songs that have impacted you as a person. Happy reading! 

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