Join acclaimed authors Melissa Febos, professor of English and director of the Nonfiction Writing Program, and Donika Kelly, associate professor of English, as they read from their latest books and discuss the intimate, transformative themes that shape their work.

Melissa Febos will read from her new memoir, The Dry Season. After the end of a difficult relationship, Febos committed to a year of celibacy, during which she discovered unexpected joy, clarity, and creative renewal. She blends personal narrative with the stories of women throughout history to explore how stepping away from romantic entanglement allowed her to rediscover her sense of self.

“Only Melissa Febos could convince us of the ecstasy of abstinence. She never fails in her candor and precision.”—Katherine May, author of Wintering

Donika Kelly will read from her newest collection of poetry, The Natural Order of Things. Kelly turns her gaze from trauma to tenderness, crafting poems that celebrate companionship, connection, and the bonds of everyday life. With inventive and playful form, she honors her heritage and finds joy in love, nature, and intimacy.

"The Natural Order of Things has a simple premise: that we are put here to love. These astounding poems enact love through a deep sensory attention to the world, allowing the boundaries of the self to become porous: the poet is now winged and aching, now a sapling taut in the wind, now an animal humming inside her beloved. Donika Kelly sings this love to us in languages––from her family's Southern vernacular to the ecstatic compression of the sonnet––that close the distance between grief and joy." —Evie Shockley

Book Matters is co-sponsored by Prairie Lights. Light refreshments will follow the event.