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Center for Black Lit. to Host an Evening with Jamaican-American Author Dennis-Benn

The best-selling author will present her new novel "Patsy," a stirring portrait of motherhood, immigration and the sacrifices we make in the name of love.
Nicole Dennis-Benn, BK Reader
The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College is launching the fall season of the John Oliver Killens Reading Series with acclaimed Jamaican-American author Nicole Dennis-Benn on Thursday, September 12.? Photo credit: nicoledennisbenn.com

The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College is launching the fall season of the John Oliver Killens Reading Series with acclaimed Jamaican-American author Nicole Dennis-Benn on Thursday, September 12. 

Nicole Dennis-Benn, the author of the bestselling-novel Here Comes the Sun, a New York Times Notable Book and winner of the Lambda Literary Award, will present her newest work, Patsy.

Her sophomore novel is a stirring portrait of motherhood, immigration and the sacrifices we make in the name of love. Dennis-Benn explores the demands on one woman who immigrates from Jamaica to Brooklyn and leaves her young daughter behind in hopes for better economic opportunities and reconnecting with an old love. Since its June release, Patsy has received much acclaim from The New York Times, O Magazine, Time, NPR, Vogue, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and others.

As a Jamaican-born and raised author, Time Out New York has described Dennis-Benn as one of the "few immigrants and first-generation Americans who are putting their stamps on NYC," and Vice has lauded Dennis-Benn for "making American literature great again." Dennis-Benn is the founder of the Stuyvesant Writing Workshop and lives with her wife in Brooklyn.

The reading marks the kick-off for The John Oliver Killens Reading Series' new season. The program in honor of the writer, scholar, teacher and playwright who influenced some of the most popular and influential African-American writers working today, was launched in 2010 as a component of the John Oliver Killens Chair. As a testament to the legacy of the late author, who at the time of his death was writer-in-residence at Medgar Evers College, the series presents discussions and readings to offer a platform for established Black authors, poets and literary scholars, as well as newly discovered writers.

Dennis-Benn will be joined for a conversation by Jamia Wilson, executive director and publisher of Feminist Press at CUNY.

The event is free and open to the public and will take place on Thursday, September 12,  6:00pm, at Medgar Evers' Edison O. Jackson Auditorium. RSVP here.




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