Presented by Minnesota Public Radio
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
6:00 pm Doors // 7:00 pm Conversation
Join MPR News journalist Kerri Miller in discussion with poet Saeed Jones about his memoir, "How We Fight for Our Lives."
From the publisher:
From award-winning poet Saeed Jones, "How We Fight for Our Lives" is a stunning coming-of-age memoir written at the crossroads of sex, race, and power.
Haunted and haunting, Jones’ memoir tells the story of a young, black, gay man from the South as he fights to carve out a place for himself, within his family, within his country, within his own hopes, desires, and fears. Through a series of vignettes that chart a course across the American landscape, Jones draws listeners into his boyhood and adolescence—into tumultuous relationships with his mother and grandmother, into passing flings with lovers, friends and strangers. Each piece builds into a larger examination of race and queerness, power and vulnerability, love and grief: a portrait of what we all do for one another—and to one another—as we fight to become ourselves.
Blending poetry and prose, Jones has developed a style that is equal parts sensual, beautiful, and powerful—a voice that’s by turns a river, a blues, and a nightscape set ablaze. "How We Fight for Our Lives" is a one-of-a-kind memoir that cements Saeed Jones as an essential writer for our time.