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The People Can Fly: American Promise, Black Prodigies, and the Greatest Miracle of All Time

Joshua Bennett

Culture, humanities & social science

The People Can Fly: American Promise, Black Prodigies, and the Greatest Miracle of All Time

By Joshua Bennett, the Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at MIT and professor of literature

Little, Brown, and Company · 2026

In this work, Bennett offers a series of profiles, carefully wrought to see how some prominent figures were able to flourish from childhood forward. He closely reads their works for indications about how they understood the shape of their own lives. In so doing, Bennett underscores the significance of the social settings that prodigious talents grow up in. He also offers reflections on his own career trajectory and encounters with these artists, driving home their influence and meaning.

From Summer 2026 recommended reading from MIT (MIT News). Cover image via Google Books.