A new book is getting a lot of attention in the literary world right now…although its author died nearly 30 years ago. Whatever Happened to Interracial Love is a newly-released collection of epigrammatic short stories written by filmmaker, playwright, activist, and fiction writer Kathleen Collins. Among her other accomplishments in her short life, she was one of the first African-American women to direct a feature-length film, Losing Ground, about black intellectual life in New York City.

Although the 1982 film didn’t have a theatrical release until recently, critics have identified it as a “ground-breaking representation of black women’s sexuality on screen.” This fascinating essay in Black Camera examines how Collins “incorporates intellect and consciousness into her representations of black women’s eroticism and ecstasy.” Collins’ short stories do the same kind of work, moving away from narratives “that position sexuality as disconnected from the mind.”

Sounds intriguing, right? Download the PDF and read the whole essay for free.