Navigate Your Stars: A Conversation with Jesmyn Ward

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Program Type:

Literacy

Age Group:

Adults
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Program Description

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Join us on Zoom for an evening with two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward. Hailed as "the new Toni Morrison" by the American Booksellers Association, Jesmyn will discuss her life, her literary vision, and her unique perspectives on love and loss. Tracie D. Hall, Executive Director of American Library Association, will join her in conversation.

Jesmyn Ward is the critically acclaimed author of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir, including bestselling "Sing, Unburied, Sing," "Salvage the Bones," and the memoir "Men We Reaped." Her many honors include the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, a MacArthur Genius Grant, and a Strauss Living Award. In 2017, she became the first woman and first person of color to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice. The standout writer of her generation, Ward's stories are largely set on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, where she grew up and still lives. A professor of creative writing at Tulane University, Ward's latest book, "Navigate Your Stars," is an adaptation of her 2018 commencement address at Tulane that championed the value of hard work.

Tracie D. Hall is an American librarian, author, curator, and advocate for the arts. She is the first African American woman to lead the American Library Association, where she's served as Executive Director since 2020, and fights for social justice, access to information, and universal broadband.

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Registration is handled by services other than Lake Forest Library. Please follow the instructions and/or use the link to complete your registration.

Please note that you must register for each date separately.

This event is on Zoom and will be recorded. Once you register, you will receive an email with connection info. After the event, registrants will receive an email with info on accessing the recording. Event times are in America/Chicago Central Time Zone.

This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events. Illinois Libraries Present is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a Department of the Office for the Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).