Something

This introduction outlines this study’s working definitions of fantasy and begins to identify the central methodological tension of the work: fantasy belongs to a psychological vocabulary that appeals to universals, while Nina Simone belongs more to a tradition of black feminist thought and expression that critiques such aspirations to universality. This chapter argues that what’s specific or irreducible about Simone’s life—including the intersection of her identities as an original genius and a black woman of her generation—is no more an obstacle to generalization than it would be for anyone else’s. It considers songs including “Please Read Me.”