Photo of a person holding a book open

Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Reading Seminar: There There by Tommy Orange

Members of the community are invited to participate in a monthly seminar series to read and discuss the four Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards winners. 

These informal and rich conversations will explore issues of bias, race and identity, pushing participants as readers and thinkers to broaden their perspectives and understanding of societal “truths.” Facilitators will help contextualize the historical and social importance of the works, but the discussions will be guided by participants.

The first Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Reading Seminar will focus on There There by Tommy Orange. It will be held Thursday, Jan. 23, from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in the Kelvin Smith Library’s Dampeer Room.

The seminars are free and open to the community and individuals can attend one or more sessions. Attendees can participate in the discussions even if they have not read the books. Light refreshments will be served.

The remaining sessions will be held on the following Thursdays from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in the library’s Dampeer Room:

  • Feb. 20: Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation by Jonathan Kozol
  • March 19: Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News by Kevin Young
  • April 16: The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

The Cleveland Humanities Collaborative Seminar Scholars, MLK Celebration Committee and Kelvin Smith Library will sponsor the series.