A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2023A Library Journal Recommended Read for 2023A Ms. Magazine Most Anticipated Book of 2023A vibrant collection of personal and lyric essays in conversation with archival objects of Black history and memory.What are the politics of nature Who owns it where is it what role does it play in our lives Does it need to be tamed Are we ourselves natural In A Darker Wilderness a constellation of luminary writers reflect on the significance of nature in their lived experience and on the role of nature in the lives of Black folks in the United States. Each of these essays engages with a single archival object whether directly or obliquely exploring stories spanning hundreds of years and thousands of miles traveling from roots to space and finding rich Blackness everywhere.Erin Sharkey considers Benjamin Bannekers 1795 almanac as she follows the passing of seasons in an urban garden in Buffalo.