Tuesday Morning Booktalks

Join award-winning UW English professor Emily Auerbach and other booklovers online to explore three thought-provoking novels by 21^st-century women of color. Classes are offered free but with the hope that participants will donate to the life-changing UW Odyssey Project. Classes meet via Zoom on Tuesdays from 10–11 AM Central Time (log-on from 9:45).

February 22: Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Written in lyrical prose by acclaimed poet and novelist Jacqueline Woodson, Red at the Bone explores two families facing the demands of teen pregnancy and the collision of personal dreams and the demands of parenthood. Ranging in time from the Tulsa massacre of 1921 to the fall of the Twin Towers, Red at the Bone offers what a New York Times reviewer calls “urgent, vital insights into questions of class, gender, race, history, queerness and sex in America.”

March 22: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

In this second novel by American novelist Celeste Ng, whose parents emigrated from Hong Kong, the rule-oriented town of Shaker Heights, Ohio comes under scrutiny when a mysterious single mother and her daughter move into a rental property. One family’s decision to adopt a Chinese-American baby also triggers division in the community. Ng writes, “Many adoptions today are transracial, which raises really complicated questions about how we handle and talk about race—and racial bias—in America."

April 26: The Measure of Man: A Spiritual Autobiography by Sidney Poitier

To honor the recent passing of Hollywood legend and Civil Rights activist Sidney Poitier, we explore his spiritual autobiography The Measure of a Man. Poitier describes his background in the Bahamas and the values his parents instilled in him that remained with him throughout his rise to fame.  

Please register here if you'd like to attend or if you'd like future emails about this event.

Zoom link: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/93058123662?pwd=OVFWRm0xZ0NRWnFMVmhKSWp1THdjZz09

Meeting ID: 930 5812 3662

Passcode: TMB2022

Check with emily.auerbach@wisc.edu for updates.