In Mixed-Race Superman, London essayist and poet Will Harris explores what it means to be mixed-race and to see oneself as mixed-race by examining the public personas of President Barack Obama and actor Keanu Reeves. Harris uses this chapbook-length essay to understand how they figure into the cultural consciousness of what such a racial background entails. Drawing on his own life, Harris considers his own perceptions of what it means to be Anglo-Indonesian, of not feeling seen and lacking the language to describe his mixed heritage.
The essay sometimes feels fragmented chapter to chapter. Often, in the final paragraphs of a section, Harris begins teasing out an idea or thought that seems to want more examination. This kernel of an idea is sometimes revisited several chapters on. While critical readers might want these reflections to be pushed further, the fragmented nature stylistically reflects the author's own precarious considerations of who he is, and who he is in relation to other people. Perhaps most importantly, Harris explores different moments in his life where he did or didn't feel connected to wider discussions concerning race in both the U.K. and U.S. public consciousness. He provides a roadmap through which readers might learn to think deeply about these topics. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer