Reader Series: Claudia Rankine

"I love language because when it succeeds, for me, it doesn't just tell me something. It enacts something. It creates something. And it goes both ways. Sometimes it's violent. Sometimes it hurts you. And sometimes it saves you." —Claudia Rankine

In 2016, Claudia Rankine was awarded a MacArthur "Genius" Grant for "crafting critical texts for understanding American culture at the beginning of the twenty-first century in inventive, ever-evolving forms of poetic expression." Her books blend verse, prose, and images to investigate issues such as racism and terrorism in art, culture, and the everyday. Join us in reading and discussing three essential books by this genius writer and thinker. 

October 10 - Don’t Let Me Be Lonely (2004)
November 14 - Citizen (2014)
December 12 - Just Us (2020)

Instructor: Michelle R. Smith is a writer, blogger, educator, and cultural facilitator, living and working out of Twinsburg, Ohio. She is the author of the poetry collection Ariel in Black (Guide to Kulchur Press) and an upcoming chapbook tentatively titled The Real Jazz Wives of Twentieth Century America (Outlandish Press). She has been published in poemmemoirstory, Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism, and The Normal School. She has been a featured reader and performer at The Lakewood Public Library, The Cleveland Museum of Arts, Cleveland Drafts – Brews + Prose, and Story Club Cleveland East Side. She has presented writing workshops at the East Cleveland Public Library and PNC Fairfax Connection. She is also the creator, producer, and director of BLAX MUSEUM, an annual performance showcase open to all forms and dedicated to honoring notable black figures in American history and culture.

Details: Reader Series: Claudia Rankine with Michelle R. Smith is a three-session class which takes place every once a month on Saturdays Oct 10, Nov 14, & Dec 12 from 10am-12pm remotely through Zoom. Register and we will send along information about how to connect via Zoom.