1:30 p.m. |<
/strong> Seating begins\, Book Sale by Prologue Bookshop
2:00
p.m. | Tyiesha Radford Shorts In Conversation with DESIREE COOPE
R
2:45 p.m. | Audience Q&\;A \;
3:00 p.m. | Book Sale and Signing
\;
ABO UT THE AUTHOR
\nDesiree Cooper is a 2015 Kresge Artist Fell ow\, Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist\, former attorney\, and editor of the groundbreaking 2026 anthology\, Black Summers: Growing up in the Urban Outdoors. Her work has appeared in The New York Times \, Oprah Daily\, MSNBC Daily\, Flash Fiction America 2023\, Michi gan Quarterly Review\, The Rumpus\, River T eeth\, and noted in The Best American Essays 2019. Co oper is the author of the award-winning flash fiction collection\, Kno w the Mother. Her children&rsquo\;s picture book\, Nothing Specia l\, is a 2023 Paterson Prizewinner and one of the New York Public Lib rary&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;10 Best Children&rsquo\;s Books of 2022.&rdquo\; A D etroit resident for 30 years\, she now lives in coastal Virginia.
\nABOUT THE BOOK
\nA triumphant\, cross-gener ational exploration of Black joy and resilience.
\nRemember frolicking outside during the long\, jubilant days of summer? This vibran t collection invites readers to breathe deeply and return to that "carefre e" season. From riding bikes\, to boating on the river\, attending music f estivals\, and cooling off in the Swimmobile\, Detroiters recount the raci al challenges of staking their claim to public spaces. This collection inc ludes emerging and award-winning writers of poetry and creative nonfiction who deftly blend nostalgia with stories of struggle and resilience. Arisi ng from Detroit\, an iconic city of the African American experience\, come s this groundbreaking exploration of Black joy in the urban outdoors.
\ n
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
\nTyiesha Radford Shorts is a writer\, humanities professor\, and arts and community advoca te in the central Ohio community. Currently\, Tyiesha serves as Director o f The Giovanni Collective\, a writing and performing arts organization of Black women writers. Tyiesha is also a founding board member and the Vice Chair of Zora&rsquo\;s House\, a sanctuary for women and gender expansive people of color. As an arts and community advocate\, Tyiesha teaches free community learning groups for non-traditional students\, a practice that o ffers formal spaces for the curiosity of the classroom outside of the acad emy. \;
\nA passionate poet and historian\, Tyiesha was selected to be the 2025 Artist-in-Residence for The Ohio State University Urban Ar ts Space. She has been a featured performer for the Columbus Foundation\, the Greater Columbus Arts Council\, the Columbus Metropolitan Library\, an d ROOTS: An Open Expression on Identity for the Maroon Arts Group. Tyiesha is a contributing writer for the American Council of Learned Societies 20 23 Preparing Community-Engaged Scholars: A Toolkit as well as the collaborative work A Love Letter to This Bridge Called My Back\, a collection of literary and visual art works designed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the seminal text This Bridge Called My Back. Her forthcoming article in the Handbook of Critical Arts-Based Resear ch Methods\, &ldquo\;Lord Willing and the Creek Don&rsquo\;t Rise: A Return to Black Appalachia through Memory and Poetics\,&rdquo\; explores p ractices of cultural transmission among Black Appalachian communities. She lives in Columbus\, Ohio&rsquo\;s historic Bronzeville community with her husband\, Marshall\, and their dog Ny.
\nABOUT THE EVENT
\nThe event is free to the public but due to limited seating registration is requested. \;
\nBooks will be sold by Prologue B ookshop.
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