The DC Public library will host a dynamic panel of Morrison scholars\, including Dr. Dana Williams\, AJ Verdelle\, D r. Evelyn Schreiber\, and Dr. Angelyn Mitchell. This panel will discuss&nb sp\;their relationship with Morrison and the growing movement to silence h er work in today's banned book campaigns. There will also be an opening pe rformance by musical performer \; sponsored by Mars Arts D.C.
\nIn addition\, Complimentary copies of "Miss Chloe: A Memoir of a Liter ary Friendship" and Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" will be distributed to the first 100 registrants\, sponsored by the D.C. Public L ibrary Foundation and Mahogany Books. \;You can learn more about the p anelists below.
\n\nMeet the Panel:
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A specialist in contemporary African American Literature\,
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A.J Verdelle is a creative writer\, publishing in multiple genres with a primary focu s on fiction and creative nonfiction. Verdelle began her teaching career a t Princeton University\, where she was on the faculty with Toni Morrison. In May 2022\, Verdelle published a memoir of their 20-year relationship&md ash\;Miss Chloe: A Memoir of Literary Friendship with Toni Morrison (Harpe r/Amistad). Verdelle teaches graduate students in the MFA program at Lesle y University in Cambridge\, MA. Verdelle also teaches undergraduates at Mo rgan State University in Baltimore\, an HBCU. Verdelle's first novel\, The Good Negress\, is taught nationally in high schools and colleges and has been referred to as a modern classic. The Good Negress has gone through th ree paperback licenses and has been continuously in print for over 25 year s. Verdelle has received awards from the Whiting Foundation\, the PEN/Faul kner Foundation\, the Lannan Foundation\, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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Evelyn Jaffe Schreiber\, Ph.D.\ , is a Professor of English at The George Washington University. Her book\ , Subversive Voices: Eroticizing the Other in William Faulkner and Toni Mo rrison\, examined identity and race via the theory of Jacques Lacan and cu ltural studies and was awarded the Toni Morrison Society book prize. It wa s a finalist for the MLA award for best first book 2003. Her book\, Race\, Trauma\, and Home in the Novels of Toni Morrison is an interdisciplinary study of trauma in Morrison's fiction\, published in 2010. It was awarded the Toni Morrison Society Book Prize and nominated for the MLA William San ders Scarborough Prize for an outstanding scholarly study of black America n literature or culture in 2011.
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Dr. Angelyn Mitchell is an associate professor of English an d African American Studies at Georgetown University\, Washington\, DC. She served as the founding director of the African American Studies Program f rom 2003-2013. Her books include \;Within the Circle: An Anthology of African American Literary Criticism from the Harlem Renaissance to the Pre sent \;(Duke UP\, 1994)\, the first anthology to chronicle twentieth-c entury African American literary and cultural criticism\, and \;The Fr eedom to Remember: Narrative\, Slavery\, &\; Gender in Contemporary Bla ck Women's Fiction \;(Rutgers UP\, 2002)\, an intersectional feminist study of contemporary narrative revisions of Black women in slavery. She a lso co-edited \;The Cambridge Companion to African American Women's Wr iting(Cambridge UP\, 2009)\, a comprehensive examination of the literary t raditions of African American women writers. In addition\, she is currentl y completing a book entitled "Toni Morrison: A Writerly Life\," a bio-crit ical study. She is a founding member and past officer of the Toni Morrison Society and serves on its board of directors.
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\nSpecial Perfo rmance sponsored by Mars Arts D.C.
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Bajan - African American Soprano Alexandria Crichlow is known for her captivating stage presence and smooth timbre. Alexandria received a B achelor of Arts Degree from Morgan State University and a Master of Music in Opera Performance from Mannes School of Music\, where she studied with Margaret Lattimore. She is an honored recipient of multiple grants and com petitions\, including the Michael Sisca Award and the Marian Marcus Wahl M emorial award. First prize winner in The National Association of Teachers Maryland District Competition and The National Association of Negro Musici ans Maryland Chapter&rsquo\;s Marian Anderson Vocal Competition.
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