W. Ralph Eubanks Thinks America Needs a Reckoning with the Delta

On February 24, the Bottom Reader Book Club dipped out of watching the State of the Union and showed our patriotism in another way: we discussed W. Ralph Eubanks’ groundbreaking book When It’s Darkness on the Delta: How America’s Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land. If you read the book—and listen to the book club discussion—it quickly becomes clear that the story Ralph is telling is not simply a regional one, but a national one. Ralph tackles the mythology of the Delta, and in doing so, he unwinds the beliefs that have shaped our country’s policies related to poverty, hunger, agriculture, healthcare, and civil rights.

I always appreciate the perspective my book club co-host Talamieka Brice brings to the table. As she said during our conversation: “This book burst my heart wide open.” When It’s Darkness on the Delta is indeed a heart- and head-opening book. Our hourlong discussion flew by, and I’ve spent a log of time reflecting on the takeaways since then. I hope you enjoy the discussion—and drop a comment to let us know what you thought of the book.

You can listen to these book club recordings in the Substack app, in your web browser, or on Spotify . Subscribe to the show on Spotify to get notifications when new episodes are released. Recorded book club conversations are only available to paid subscribers, but the live book club sessions will continue to be free and open to all readers.

Thank you Psychedelic Literature, Chistopher Norment, and many others for tuning into my live book club with W. Ralph Eubanks and Talamieka Brice! Join me for my next live conversation in the app.

Ralph on how the subtitle of the book evolved:

Ralph on why writing this book scared him:

How poet, essayist and playwright June Jordan became “the muse” for this book:

Bottom Reader Book club is continuing in 2026…Read along with us!

March 31: Foxes for Everybody: Twenty-Four Hours of Early Motherhood with Catherine Simone Gray and author Catherine Pierce

April 28 - Joesph Patri Brown’s The Image They Had Painted