Join Tisa Bryant, associate professor of English, and Sarah Minor, assistant professor of English, as they read from their latest books and discuss the themes that shape their work. This event is free and open to the public.

Bryant will read from her new book, Residual. Through a series of genre-crossing essays, she explores the aftermath of her mother’s death, examining what remains of her home, psyche, and creative practice. Blending memoir with archival reflection, Bryant draws on personal memories and the lives of Black women, including Lorraine Hansberry and Octavia E. Butler to consider grief, memory, and what endures after loss.

“Fifteen years after her mother’s death, Bryant attempts to confront the emptiness and loneliness she felt in the wake of the loss… through captivating writing that hovers between prose and poetry, Bryant paints a moving portrait of grief.”

—Publishers Weekly

Minor will read from her new book, Carousel: An Essay on Seeing. Carousel begins with a professor questioning what students are really seeing in a world of constant digital distraction. Blending memoir, cultural criticism, and history, Minor examines how vision shapes power and perception, revealing that our ways of seeing often expose more about ourselves than the world around us.

“Minor weaves together an artful collage of observations, from the historic to the modern and the critical to the personal. Indelible and idiosyncratic details . . . add intimacy and humanity to Minor’s insights. This is potent.”

—Publishers Weekly

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