Central Library Hosts Victor Luckerson And Ashley M. Jones On Thursday, June 22, To Discuss His Debut Novel "Built From The Fire"
When: Thursday, June 22 | Starts at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Birmingham Public Library, Central Location | 2100 Park Pl, Birmingham, AL 35203
Details: The Birmingham Public Library and Thank You Books are hosting journalist and author Victor Luckerson in Conversation with Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley M. Jones! Luckerson is the "author of the highly-anticipated 'epic story' of America's Black Wall Street," Built from the Fire. This program is free and open to the public, but registration is encouraged; visit bit.ly/3LAKMA5 to register.
Birmingham, AL—The Birmingham Public Library and Thank You Books are excited to host journalist and author Victor Luckerson and Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley M. Jones as they discuss his moving debut book, Built from the Fire.
Built from the Fire is a multigenerational saga about Ed Goodwin's family and the community they helped create in Tulsa's Greenwood district, known as "Black Wall Street," that in one century survived the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, urban renewal, and gentrification.
Regarding his book, Penguin Random House Books shares:
"...journalist Victor Luckerson moves beyond the mythology of Black Wall Street to tell the story of an aspirant black neighborhood that, like so many others, has long been buffeted by racist government policies. Through the eyes of dozens of race massacre survivors and their descendants, Luckerson delivers an honest, moving portrait of this potent national symbol of success and solidarity—and weaves an epic tale about a neighborhood that refused, more than once, to be erased."
A book signing will follow the discussion, and books will be available for purchase. Luckerson's book is available for checkout in the catalog as a book, an eBook, and an audiobook.
Victor Luckerson is a journalist and author based in Tulsa. He has a passion for bringing neglected black history to the light. Luckerson's writing and research have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Wired, and Smithsonian. He is a former staff writer at The Ringer and a business reporter for Time magazine, for which he was nominated for a National Magazine Award for his reporting in Time on the 1923 Rosewood Massacre. He also manages an email newsletter titled Run It Back about underexplored aspects of black.
Ashley M. Jones is the moderator for the evening. Jones previously partnered with the library to be the moderator of be gentle with black girls: Addressing Adultification Bias and Protecting Black Childhood and participated in other programs, like the Local Authors Expo and Bards & Brews.
Jones earned her MFA in Poetry from Florida International University and wrote three collections of poetry: Magic City Gospel, dark // thing, and REPARATIONS NOW! She received the Poet Laureate Fellowship in 2022 from the Academy of American Poets. Her poetry has garnered other awards, including the Lucille Clifton Jones Poetry Prize, the Lucille Clifton Legacy Award, the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers Award, and a Literature Fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts to name a few.
Jones co-directs PEN Birmingham and is the founding director of the Magic City Poetry Festival. She teaches in the Creative Writing Department of the Alabama School of Fine Arts.
You can find Magic City Gospel, dark // thing, REPARATIONS NOW!, and her latest book, What Things Cost: An Anthology for the People.
Jim Baggett, renowned Head of the Archives Department, is retiring this summer. This is his last program before he retires. Read about his career at the Birmingham Public Library on our blog.
Follow the Birmingham Public Library on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and follow Thank You Books on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more updates.
By Cheyenne Trujillo | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Public Relations Department
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