57 pages • 1 hour read
Hanif AbdurraqibA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The single sentence that follows the bolded text explains that Gaye’s brother didn’t get to him sooner, because he mistook the gunshots for fireworks.
This essay a explores the beauty of crushes, especially in the summer—the time when Abdurraqib lets himself fall in love most willingly. The essay explores Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know,” saying it paved the way for music to explore crushes. Crushes, for Abdurraqib, are not just romantic; they can be seasonal and geographical too.
Abdurraqib goes to Toronto to see Carly Rae Jepsen perform with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. This is the first time she has performed in her home country in many years. Abdurraqib believes that Jepsen’s music is “a never-ending chase where the only thing to fall in love with is the idea of falling in love” (291). The endless possibilities her music explores make him feel hopeful.
By Hanif Abdurraqib