One Page: Tommy Orange and Waubgeshig Rice, There There

Thursday, October 29, 2020 from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm Archived

Online,

We are thrilled to be part of One Page: Canada’s Virtual Literary Series. One Page is a Canada-wide network of libraries, literary festivals, and independent booksellers dedicated to bringing top-level international writers to eager readers across the country. Every couple of weeks, we’ll be inviting you to share an hour in the company of a high-profile writer talking about a new book and the writing life.

In a sweeping yet nuanced exploration of identity and the role of Native Americans in a contemporary urban America (in this case, Oakland, California), Cheyenne and Arapaho author, Tommy Orange’s novel There There presents a complex portrait of urban life and the impact that racism, ignorance and historical wrongs has had on an interconnected group of Native American characters.

Inspired by a Gertrude Stein line about Oakland and all the ways it changed upon her return (“there is no there there”), Orange plays with this paradox of cities being both permanent and ever-changing places of nostalgia, desperation and success.

Tommy Orange talks with Anishnaabe journalist and author Waubgeshig Rice (Moon of the Crusted Snow).

Register HERE via Crowdcast

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