Porter Square Books presents WHITE IN AMERICA
New England Contributors in Cambridge, MA
featuring
J. Kates, Barbara Beckwith, Martha Collins, Abe Lateiner
special appearance by
Debby Irving, racial justice educator, author of the acclaimed book,
Waking Up White (2014), and author of the introduction to
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WHITE IN AMERICA?
with
Sean Frederick Forbes, poet, professor and co-editor of
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WHITE IN AMERICA?
This event is cosponsored by the National Writers Union, Boston Chapter.
Friday, November 4th at 7 PM.
Porter Square Books | 25 White St, Cambridge, MA 02140 | 617-491-2220
Porter Square Books will present the New England Contributors of WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WHITE IN AMERICA? on Friday, November 4, 2016 at 7 PM. This event is cosponsored by the National Writers Union, Boston Chapter.
Published and edited by 2Leaf Press editors, Gabrielle David and Sean Frederick Forbes, this groundbreaking collection of 82 personal narratives reflect a vibrant range of stories from white Americans who speak frankly and openly about race. This event features special guest, racial justice educator Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race (2014), and author of the Introduction of WHITE IN AMERICA, and Sean Frederick Forbes, a poet and Creative Writing Director at University of Connecticut, and co-editor of WHITE IN AMERICA.
The New England Contributors, J. Kates, Barbara Beckwith, Martha Collins, and Abe Lateiner, provide a vibrant range of stories from white Americans who speak frankly and openly about race. J. Kates is a poet and literary translator who lives in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. He serves as the president and co-director of Zephyr Press, an award-winning non-profit press that focuses on contemporary works in translation from Russia, Eastern Europe and Asia. Barbara Beckwith is a journalist, essayist and activist whose writing has been published in more than forty newspapers and magazines, including ,The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Smithsonian, Ms., and Essence. She has been a National Writers Union activist and Boston Chapter Steering Committee member since the 1980s. Martha Collins is an award-winning poet and the founder of the creative writing program at UMass-Boston and taught at Oberlin College for ten years. She now serves as editor-at-large for Oberlin’s FIELD, magazine. Abe Lateiner is a writer, racial justice activist, educator, and organizer of white people in support of black lives. He taught in the public schools for ten years, and now organizes young progressive people with wealth via Resource Generation and other
donor networks.
The stories in WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WHITE IN AMERICA? cover a wide gamut of American history from contributors around the United States; from reminiscing about segregation and Jim Crow, to today’s headlines of police brutality, politics and #BlackLivesMatter. The variety in style and subject is represented by people of different backgrounds who have created an absorbing and thought-provoking collection that explores race. Some offer viewpoints one may not necessarily agree with, yet it is clear that each contributor is committed to answering the question as honestly as possible
Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA is a neighborhood institution, treasured for its frequent events, lively coffee bar, and smart, veteran staff. Join the New England contributors of WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WHITE IN AMERICA? share their stories and perspectives about race; and participate in an in-depth conversation about race issues today. Books available for sale; book signing to follow.
