Abby Everidge
Staff Writer
On Thursday, Sept. 27 at 7:00 p.m.,the English department will host a reading in room 045 of Ruth Williams Hall. This reading will feature authors Nafissa Thompson-Spires and Kiese Laymon and will be followed by a question and answer session, as well as a book signing.
Earlier this year, Nafissa Thompson-Spires released her first collection of short fiction titled “Heads of the Colored People.” The collection contains 11 stories that feature a variety of black characters — some of which appear in more than one story — that navigate the modern age, which Thompson-Spires refers to as “our supposedly post-racial era.”
Anthony Tognazzini, a professor of English at the College, commented on her collection, saying, “Inventive, fresh, comic and incisive, Thompson-Spires’ stories often take on the intersections of social and personal identities as they are challenged, threatened and changed.”
In fact, just recently, “Heads of the Colored People” was long listed for the National Book Award, an incredible achievement for authors.
Nafissa Thompson-Spires earned a Ph.D. in English from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Illinois. Currently, Thompson-Spires is an assistant professor of creative writing and African-American studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Kiese Laymon, an essayist and fiction writer, will also be a featured author at the reading. His 2013 novel “Long Division” surrounds a boy growing up in Mississippi in the 1980s who finds a portal which allows him to time-travel to the Civil Rights era.
Laymon’s debut novel has been referred to as a “Twain-esque exploration” that travels between 1964, 1985 and 2013 while touching on themes of prejudice, confusion and love.
In the same year, Laymon also released a book of cultural essays titled “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America,” which takes on complicated issues such as America’s race relations, gun violence and pop culture.
He seems to draw on his own personal experiences from growing up in Jackson, Miss. in an attempt to deal with the issues that occupy America today.
Tognazzini praised his work, stating, “Laymon’s voice on the page is, without fail, illuminating, colloquial, comic and heartbreaking.”
“Heavy,” a memoir covering various themes such as body dysmorphia, family, race and growing up in the South, will be released in October of this year. Laymon began this highly-anticipated memoir when he was only 11 years old and addresses his mother directly throughout the work.
Kiese Laymon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College and a Master of Fine Arts from Indiana University. Laymon was an associate professor of English and Africana studies at Vassar College in upstate New York before recently being hired as a professor of English and creative writing at the University of Mississippi. He is also a contributing editor for Gawker and writes on a regular basis for ESPN.
The English department encourages everyone to attend this event, as it is a great opportunity to listen to and even meet two inspiring and up-and-coming authors.