Reading the Classics is an opportunity to acquaint oneself with or revisit classic Black literature in an informal yet informative setting. Moderated by Cultural Historian, Michelle Black-Smith, we will come together quarterly to engage with and celebrate the great canon of African American literature. All titles will be available for in-store purchase at least a month in advance, however, we encourage you to join us whether you have read the book or not. Light refreshments will be served and participants will receive a select bibliography of the author's written works.
About The Fire Next Time:
A national bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation, gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement--and still lights the way to understanding race in America today.
Basically the finest essay I've ever read. . . . Baldwin refused to hold anyone's hand. He was both direct and beautiful all at once. He did not seem to write to convince you. He wrote beyond you." --Ta-Nehisi Coates
At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin's early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice, the book is an intensely personal and provocative document from the iconic author of If Beale Street Could Talk and Go Tell It on the Mountain. It consists of two letters, written on the occasion of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, that exhort Americans, both black and white, to attack the terrible legacy of racism. Described by The New York Times Book Review as sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle...all presented in searing, brilliant prose, The Fire Next Time stands as a classic of literature.
Other titles in this series include:
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Sat, February 11 at 6pm: Beloved, Toni Morrison
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Sat, May 6 at 6pm: Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
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Sat, August 26 at 6pm: Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
