A Preface by Idris Goodwin   “A Preface,” by Idris Goodwin, serves as the actual preface to his 2011 book These Are the Breaks in that it occurs in prose format at the beginning of the book.  While it takes on the language of a standard preface, the content satirizes the form with its attack on certainty–in this case, the certainty of the definition of race, and in particular, the definition of black Americans. The tension propelling the piece forward is realized whenever the audience figures out that they are not meant to actually follow the convoluted and ironic logic that Goodwin is presenting.  This occurs, or at least begins to, when Goodwin unleashes a litany of nationalities which would be considered “brown.”  The…