Nina Simone and the World She Made

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Salamishah Tillet explores Nina Simone’s life and the impact of her legacy.

In Nina Simone and the World She Made, Salamishah Tillet traces Simone’s transformation from Eunice Waymon, child prodigy, to Nina Simone, musical icon and fearless Civil Rights activist. When racism thwarted her dreams of becoming a classical pianist, Simone reinvented herself and began blending her classical training with jazz, blues, and gospel to create a sound wholly her own – one that would catapult her to stardom, and into the heart of the Black Power movement.

Tillet explores Simone’s unique impact on culture and politics through the women who shaped her – including her piano teacher, musical precursors such as Billie Holiday, and the playwright Lorraine Hansberry – and through those shaped by Simone, from Lauryn Hill and Beyonce to Tillet herself. By threading these stories of creative and political awakening together, we see art as a powerful driver of activism, and the struggles and sacrifices it can involve.

With unflinching honesty and lyrical prose, Tillet shows us how Simone’s music captured the pain and promise of America, and how her voice continues to resonate in the fight for equality today. Both a tribute to genius and a call to action, this piercing book urges us to listen to Simone’s music not just as a reflection of the past, but as a guide for the future.