The Lit Lantern Reading Series

In keeping with Lampblack’s mission to foster meaningful conversation about Black literature, one which interrogates existing criticisms and advances more authentic interpretations of Black work, we are launching the Lampblack Reading Series. At the end of each month, we will meet to discuss the work of a Black writer. The reading series is multi-genre (nonfiction, fiction and poetry), and will feature works by a geographically and stylistically diverse group of writers of the African diaspora.

Additionally, the last month of each quarter will be reserved to discuss the work of a living writer. In lieu of a group discussion, we will invite the writer for a reading and Q&A session.

Previous Readings

June: The Rinehart Frames by Cheswayo Mphanza

Mphanza’s debut collection seeks to expand the boundaries of Blackness, history, imitation and art, as well as challenge their attendant proscriptions. In this ekphrastic body of work, Mhpanza is both wanderer and critic, skillfully transcending time, space and form.

May: Annotations by John Keene

On one level, John Keene’s experimental first novel is a deep exploration of race, class and sexuality in the American South. But with its poetic approach, Annotations is also an exploration of form, reimagining what the American novel can do.