America’s First Black Super Hero: A Guest Post by Bob the Drag Queen
We’ve known Bob the Drag Queen for winning the eighth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, his unforgettable run on Traitors, his work in acting, his philanthropy and so much more. Now, we’re thrilled to get to know Bob on the page. Read on for an exclusive essay from Bob on what inspired him to write his debut novel, Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert.
Hardcover $27.99
Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert: A Novel
Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert: A Novel
In Stock Online
Hardcover $27.99
From RuPaul’s Drag Race winner, Traitors contestant, and host of HBO’s We’re Here comes an inventive, wondrous novel about American hero Harriet Tubman that remixes history into a fresh, dynamic novel about love, freedom, salvation, and hip-hop.
From RuPaul’s Drag Race winner, Traitors contestant, and host of HBO’s We’re Here comes an inventive, wondrous novel about American hero Harriet Tubman that remixes history into a fresh, dynamic novel about love, freedom, salvation, and hip-hop.
HARRIET TUBMAN: LIVE IN CONCERT is a novel about America’s first Black super hero.
That’s what Harriet Tubman has always been to me. America’s first Black super hero. And the spark of the novel came from imagining her alive today.
Just what would she say? What would she want to do if she was back in our lives?
The answer came to me as music. Harriet and her fellow emancipators would use spirituals and songs to signal to each other now was the time to break for freedom. How would Harriet respond to the legacy of these spirituals, and their hymns of freedom, with the art of hip-hop that has come after it? I feel like she would love hip-hop, and the idea for HARRIET TUBMAN: LIVE IN CONCERT took root in my mind.
The novel is about Harriet, and formerly enslaved people she led to freedom returning today to write a hip-hop album. I know, it sounds crazy, and I really think of this as a sort of high camp historical novel.
“Camp” is something I know a lot about. After all, I’m a drag queen, actor, comedian, television personality and musician. I’m a performer, and part of the joy of my work is stitching together the rich tapestry of our culture and history in order to create something wondrous, powerful, enjoyable and memorable. It’s just what Harriet did in her life. She lived roughly 1822 until 1913. Born enslaved, and ultimately freeing hundreds of people, including her own family members. Harriet then became a spy for the Union, and later a leading suffragette and campaigner for equality across genders and races. Again, she is a super hero.
My novel is a love song to Harriet, and what I hope readers find in its pages, as the characters themselves do on their journey in the novel, is a resilience of the human spirit. A call to never give up on yourself and your mission on this journey of life. Also, I hope it gets people listening to some great music. The audiobook comes with two original songs I wrote.
Enjoy, and thank you,
Bob the Drag Queen
