Acclaimed writer Percival Everett will dis cuss his latest novel\, James\, a brilliant\, action-packed reima gining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told from the enslaved c haracter Jim's point of view. This presentation will be part of a conversa tion with Gillian Johns\, Associate Professor of English at Oberlin Colleg e and Conservatory. As the evening concludes\, Everett will announce the w inners of the 89th Anisfield-Wolf Book A wards. \; \;
\nRegistration for this event is \;FRE E. VIP tickets are also available for purchase.
\nEach VIP ticket ($ 30) includes:
\nCLICK HERE \;to purchase VIP tickets
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Perciv al Everett's most recent books include \;Dr. No \;(finalist for the NBCC Award for Fiction and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Awa rd) \;The Trees \;(finalist for the Booker Prize and the& nbsp\;PEN/Jean Stein Book Award)\, \;Telephone \;(finalis t for the Pulitzer Prize)\, \;So Much Blue\, \;Erasur e\, and \;I Am Not Sidney Poitier. \;He has a poetry collection forthcoming with Red Hen Press. He has received the \;NBCC Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award\, the Hurston/Wright Legacy \ ;Award\, and the PEN Center USA Award for Fiction\, and is a Distinguished Professor of English at \;USC.
\nIn James< /em>\, when the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a ma n in New Orleans\, separated from his wife and daughter forever\, he decid es to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhi le\, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father\, rece ntly returned to town. As all readers of American literature know\, thus b egins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free Stat es and beyond.
\nWhile many narrative set pieces of \;The Ad ventures of Huckleberry Finn \;remain in place (floods and storms \, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the m yriad stopping points along the river&rsquo\;s banks\, encountering the sc am artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin&hellip\;)\, Jim&rsquo\;s agency\ , intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.
\nBrimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a &ldquo\;literary icon&rdquo\; (Oprah Daily)\, and one of t he most decorated writers of our lifetime\, \;James \; is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.
\nAdditional books will be available for purcha se and signing courtesy of Mac&rsquo\;s Backs &ndash\; Books on Coventry.< /p>\n
For questions about accessibility or to request accommodations for individuals with hearing\, visual or mobility impairments\, please email& nbsp\;events@cuyahogalibrary.o rg.
\nNO REFUNDS. \;If you are unable to at tend the event\, please contact \;events@cuyahogalibrary.org \;to claim the book(s) included with your VIP ticket purchase and schedule pick up from the CCPL branch o f your choice. Books not claimed within 7 days of the event will be donate d to the Library.
\nQuestions? Email us at \;events@cuyahogalibrary.org.
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