Tag Archives: Author Reading

Word Up: Book Discussion, Seth Michelson’s HOPE ON THE BORDER

Word Up welcomes award-winning professor Seth Michelson to discuss his new book Hope on the Border: Immigration, Incarceration, and the Power of Poetry, a humanizing story of immigration shown through the lens of undocumented, unaccompanied children and the poems they write.

In conversation with Michelson will be David C. Baluarte, an immigration attorney and CUNY law professor.  “Heartfelt . . . a surprisingly uplifting call to reform an unjust system.” -Publishers Weekly

This event is a $5 suggested donation ticket with 30 max attendees. Please register in advance.

Word Up Recirculation: Motorcycles, Motherhood, & Writing in Community: Sarah L. Hoiland & María Julia Rossi with Ria Banerjee

Join us for this lively conversation between three author-friends about their recent books and their decade-long writing group. We will discuss two new books: Righteous Sisterhood: Politics and Power in an All-Women’s Motorcycle Club (2025), about a women’s motorcycle club, and Narrar las madres: Derivas de la maternidad en la nueva literatura hispanoamericana (Narrating Mothers: Maternity Drifts in the New Hispanic American Literature, 2024), on recent Latin American fiction about motherhood. We will share tidbits from these works and the implicit connection between two very different projects: the importance of a writing community. The conversation between authors Sarah L. Hoiland and María Julia Rossi will be guided by Ria Banerjee. Conversation will be in English.

Acompáñennos en esta animada conversación entre tres autoras y amigas sobre sus últimos libros y su grupo de escritura, que lleva una década de actividad. Hablaremos de dos nuevos libros: Righteous Sisterhood: Politics and Power in an All-Women’s Motorcycle Club (2025), sobre un club de mujeres motociclistas, y Narrar las madres: Derivas de la maternidad en la nueva literatura hispanoamericana (2024), sobre la ficción latinoamericana reciente en torno a la maternidad. Compartiremos fragmentos de estas obras y la conexión implícita entre dos proyectos muy diferentes: la importancia de una comunidad de escritoras. La conversación entre las autoras Sarah L. Hoiland y María Julia Rossi estará moderada por Ria Banerjee. La conversación será en inglés.

Themes discussed will include representations of women in fiction and nonfiction, the politics of motherhood, and race and class dynamics that inform gendered roles. As professional women working with and without community support, we will share metacommentary about how these projects came about, too. The audience is invited to join the conversation, either in English or Spanish.

Entre los temas sobre los que conversarán se incluyen las representaciones de las mujeres en la ficción y la no ficción, las políticas de la maternidad, así como las dinámicas raciales y de clase que influyen en los roles de género. Como mujeres profesionales que trabajamos con y sin el apoyo de la comunidad, también compartiremos cómo surgieron estos proyectos. Se invita al público a participar en la conversación, en inglés o en español.

This event is a $5 suggested donation ticket with 50 max attendees. Please register in advance.

Este evento tiene una entrada con donación sugerida de $5 y un aforo máximo de 50 personas. Se ruega inscribirse con antelación.

In compliance with Word Up Community Safety guidelines, all attendees are encouraged to stay masked at all time.

De conformidad con las pautas de seguridad de la comunidad de Word Up, se recomienda a todos los asistentes que permanezcan usando mascarillas en todo momento.

Recirculation, a project of Word Up Community Bookshop, is located at 876 Riverside Drive (near 160th St.) in Washington Heights, NYC. You can take the 1 train to 157th St., A/C train to 163rd St., and the M4 and M5 to Broadway and 159/160th.

Recirculation, un proyecto de Word Up Community Bookshop, está ubicado en 876 Riverside Drive (cerca de la calle 160) en Washington Heights, Nueva York. Puede llegar en la línea 1 del metro hasta la calle 157, en las líneas A/C hasta la calle 163, o en los autobuses M4 y M5 hasta Broadway y las calles 159/160.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | sobre las autoras

Sarah L. Hoiland, Professor of Sociology at Hostos Community College, the Research and Budget Director at the CUNY Academy, and Principal Investigator of two current National Science Foundation funded research projects. Righteous Sisterhood: Politics and Power in an All-Women’s Motorcycle Club (Temple University Press, 2025) offers readers a lens through which to see how righteous sisters forge a political community within and through RSMC and invites readers to explore how these women negotiate identity, politics, and the pursuit of excellence in an environment that resists change. It is a story of empowerment, defiance, and the transformative power of community amid a fractured society—while also revealing themes of disempowerment, conformity, and the exclusionary force of political communities. Her research spans a variety of contexts and topics, but it is centered around questions of identity, transformation, and belonging.

Sarah L. Hoiland es profesora de Sociología en Hostos Community College, directora de Investigación y Presupuesto de CUNY Academy e investigadora principal de dos proyectos de investigación financiados actualmente por la Fundación Nacional para la Ciencia. El libro Righteous Sisterhood: Politics and Power in an All-Women’s Motorcycle Club [Justa hermandad. Política y poder en un club de motociclistas mujeres] (Temple University Press, 2025) ofrece a las lectoras una lente a través de la cual ver las formas en que las mujeres forjan una comunidad política dentro del club de motociclistas Righteous Sisterhood y a través de él, e invita a explorar cómo estas mujeres negocian la identidad, la política y la búsqueda de la excelencia en un entorno que se resiste al cambio. Es una historia de empoderamiento, rebeldía y el poder transformador de la comunidad en medio de una sociedad fracturada, al tiempo que revela temas de desempoderamiento, conformismo y la fuerza excluyente de las comunidades políticas. Su investigación abarca una variedad de contextos y temas, centrada en cuestiones de identidad, transformación y pertenencia.

María Julia Rossi, Professor of Modern Languages at CUNY. Dr. Rossi’s most recent book, Narrar las madres. Derivas de la maternidad en la nueva literatura hispanoamericana [Narrating Mothers. Maternity Drifts in the New Hispanic American Literature] (Gata Flora, 2024), is an exploration of representations of motherhood in contemporary Spanish-language fiction. It offers an ambitious overview of the narrative about and by mothers published in recent decades in Spanish around the world. Through critical commentary, it explores common themes, recurring motifs, and both shared and individual experiences within literature. She also published Silvina Ocampo marginal in 2024, that focused on the overlooked works by the Argentine writer. Her research focuses on the intersection of the politics of representation in Latin American and Spanish fiction and gender studies.

María Julia Rossi es profesora de Lenguas Modernas en CUNY. Su libro más reciente, Narrar las madres. Derivas de la maternidad en la nueva literatura hispanoamericana (Gata Flora, 2024), es una exploración de las representaciones de la maternidad en la ficción contemporánea en español. Ofrece un ambicioso panorama de la narrativa sobre madres y escrita por ellas publicada en las últimas décadas en español en todo el mundo. A través de comentarios críticos, explora temas comunes, motivos recurrentes y experiencias compartidas e individuales dentro de la literatura. También publicó Silvina Ocampo marginal en 2024, donde investiga obras olvidadas de la escritora argentina desde nuevos puntos de vista. Su investigación se centra en la intersección de la política de representación en la ficción latinoamericana y española y los estudios de género.

Ria Banerjee, Professor of English at CUNY, is a longtime resident of Harlem and Washington Heights. Her book, Drafty Houses in Forster, Eliot and Woolf: Spatiality and Cultural Politics (Palgrave, 2024), is about architectural symbols and images in the works of three modernist authors. Her scholarly interests are in British and European modernism, film noir, and writing pedagogy.

Ria Banerjee es profesora de Inglés en CUNY y reside desde hace mucho tiempo en Harlem y Washington Heights. Su libro, Drafty Houses in Forster, Eliot and Woolf: Spatiality and Cultural Politics [Casas con resquicios en Forster, Eliot y Woolf. Espacialidad y políticas culturales] (Palgrave, 2024), trata sobre los símbolos y las imágenes arquitectónicas en las obras de tres autores modernistas. Sus intereses académicos se centran en el modernismo británico y europeo, el cine negro y la pedagogía de la escritura.

Church of the Intercession: ’Twas the Night Before Christmas Reading & Procession

For more than 100 years, the Church of the Intercession in Upper Manhattan has hosted a festive annual reading of A Visit from St. Nicholas, better known as ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. This year’s reading, by Errol Louis, political anchor of NY1 News and host of Inside City Hall, will be followed by a lantern procession with St. Nicholas to the neighboring Trinity Cemetery and Mausoleum for a short service in memory of author Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863). The son of the sixth Trinity Rector, Benjamin Moore, Clement Clark Moore wrote the beloved poem in 1822 as a Christmas gift to his 6 children. A reception will follow the service. Free & open to all.

For information visit intercessionnyc.org or call 212-283-6200.

The Church of the Intercession and Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum, Broadway at West 155th Street.

Castle Village Community Room: Book Talk “Every Day Is Sunday” by Ken Belson

Ever Wonder How Football Became Our Favorite Sport?

Ken Belson, veteran New York Times reporter and CV resident, will discuss his new book “Every Day Is Sunday”, on Sunday, November 9, at 4:00 PM in the Community Room.  “Every Day Is Sunday” is an in-depth look at the business of pro football.  Specifically, Ken hones in on the fascinating roster of characters who have made the NFL the economic and cultural super power it is.  With annual revenues of $23 billion, the NFL’s revenues are comparable to those of Fortune 500 companies like Colgate-Palmolive and Goodyear Tires.

In an expansive and favorable review of “Every Day Is Sunday”, the New York Times summed it up by saying

“His unique access and firm grasp of football culture have produced “Every Day is Sunday”, a polished, entertaining account of what he aptly calls “an immensely profitable American religion.”

Mary Darcy, CV resident, WMHT and nationally syndicated radio host, will moderate.  Please join us:

When:          Sunday, November 9

Where:         CV Community Room

FREE to Castle Village residents

 

Books Will Be Available For Purchase

Word Up Recirculation – Barnard Center for Research on Women: The Elsewhere is Black

Join BCRW for an exciting book salon honoring Marisa Solomon’s 

The Elsewhere is Black: Ecological Violence and Improvised Life!

Join us for an exciting book salon in celebration of Barnard Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender, Sexuality Studies Marisa Solomon’s The Elsewhere Is Black: Ecological Violence and Improvised Life with J.T. Roane (Geography, Rutgers) and Mon M., moderated by C. Riley Snorton (English & Comparative Literature and ISSG, Columbia).

In The Elsewhere Is Black, Solomon examines how waste is a mundane part of poor Black survival and a condition of settler colonial racial capitalism. Tracing the flow of trash and waste across Black spaces, from Brooklyn’s historically Black Bedford-Stuyvesant to the post-plantation towns of Virginia’s Tidewater, Solomon contends that waste infrastructures concentrate environmental risk in an elsewhere that is routinely Black.

She theorizes the relationship between the devaluation of land and Black and more-than-human life to reveal how the risks of poisoning, police violence, dispossession, and poverty hold Black life captive. Highlighting the creativity and resilience that emerge amid these conditions, Solomon, Roane and Monhapatra will invite us to consider collaborative conversations across new eco-political possibilities that center the book’s fundamental ask: What forms of environmentalism arise when Black un/freedom has always been entangled with waste?

Additional information is available on the BCRW event page.
Marisa Solomon is an Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she teaches courses in feminist intersectional science studies, abolitionist ecologies, Black geographies, feminist theory and queer of color critique. Her new book, The Elsewhere is Black: Ecological Violence and Improvised Life (Duke University Press 2025), which received Duke University Press’s Scholar of Color First Book Award, considers ecological politics from the position of criminalized Black dispossession. In so doing, The Elsewhere Is Black examines how waste is a mundane part of poor Black survival and a condition of settler colonial racial capitalism in the U.S. Locating Black survival as a site from which alternative eco-political imaginations spring, she foregrounds how people live and dream amidst waste’s daily accumulation. Solomon opens new ecological horizons to ask: What forms of environmentalism emerge when Black un/freedom has never been distant from waste?

She has written a number of articles on the relationship between waste and Black life including “The Ghetto is a Gold Mine” for the Journal of Labor and Working-Class History and “Ecologies Elsewhere” for GLQ: A Journal of Gay and Lesbian Studies, and “Living with Harm” forthcoming in Scholar and Feminist Online. Her work also appears in a number of edited volumes, including Waste as Critique (Oxford University Press), Black Environmentalisms (forthcoming with Duke University Press), The Politics of Disposability: Discard Studies in an Era of Devaluation (also forthcoming with Duke) as well as in a compilation of essays for the 2023 Venice Biennial on Everlasting Plastics. She is currently the director of Barnard’s interdisciplinary Race and Ethnic Studies Minor (ICORE/MORE), an editorial board member of Women’s Studies Quarterly (WSQ) and Scholar and Feminist Online and the former co-director of the Black Atlantic Ecologies Working Group at the Columbia Center for the Study of Social Difference, where she was affiliated with the Earth Institute.

Mon M. (they/she) is a spadeworker and propagandist from India, based in New York City. Mon’s work focuses on challenging and interrupting carceral expansion in the US, and beyond, through community and cultural organizing across experiences of gender, migration, and disability. Their writing explores internationalist anti-caste and feminist solidarities, as well as techniques of organizing within and against the scourge of authoritarian violence while resisting reformist and liberal capture.

C. Riley Snorton is Professor of English and Comparative Literature and jointly appointed with the Institute for the Study of Sexuality and Gender at Columbia University. As a cultural theorist, his work focuses on racial, sexual, and transgender histories and cultural productions in Africa and the Diaspora. He is the author of Nobody Is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low (University of Minnesota Press, 2014) and Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity (University of Minnesota Press, 2017), winner of the John Boswell Prize from the American Historical Association, the William Sanders Scarborough Prize from the Modern Language Association, the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction, the Sylvia Rivera Award in Transgender Studies from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, and an honorable mention from the American Library Association Stonewall Book Award Committee. Snorton is a co-editor of Saturation: Race, Art and the Circulation of Value (MIT Press/New Museum, 2020) with Hentyle Yapp and The Flesh of the Matter: A Critical Forum on Hortense Spillers (Vanderbilt University Press, 2024) with Margo Natalie Crawford. He also co-authored the book, A Black Queer History of the United States (Beacon Press, 2026) with Darius Bost. Snorton is currently working on his third single-author monograph, Black Trans Matters, which extends and proffers theories, practices, and material reflections on global black trans life. Working at the conjuncture of Black ecocriticism and trans studies, Black Trans Matters engages with questions of historicity, extraction, representability, and transformation.

J.T. Roane is author of the award winning book Dark Agoras Insurgent Black Social Life and the Politics of Place (NYU 2023). He is assistant professor of Africana Studies and Geography and co-directs the Black Ecologies Lab at Rutgers. Roane serves on the board for an Indigenous and Black led food and environmental justice organization in Virginia’s Tidewater, Just Harvest.

Co-sponsored by Barnard’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department.