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Namwali Serpell Author Visit - On Morrison Book Release

Namwali Serpell visits the Bexley Public Library to celebrate the release of her new book, On Morrison, with an inspiring reading and conversation. The conversation will be followed by a book signing

Join us for a night of inspiration as Namwali Serpell visits the Bexley Public Library to celebrate the release of her new book, On Morrison, with a reading and conversation. On Morrison has been named One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year by the New York Times, The Today Show, Kirkus Review, and Lit Hub and has been called "As gripping as it is intellectually brilliant...a classic."—Cathy Park Hong.  The conversation will be followed by a book signing.

About the Author:

Namwali Serpell was born in Lusaka and lives in New York. Her debut novel, The Old Drift, won an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction, and the Los Angeles Times’s Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Her second novel, The Furrows, was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and was selected as one of The New York Times Ten Best Books of the Year. Her book of essays, Stranger Faces, was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism. She is a recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize for Fiction, the Caine Prize for African Writing, and a Rona Jaffe Foundation Award. She is a professor of English at Harvard University. Her book of essays, On Morrison, is forthcoming from Penguin Random House and is due out on February 17, 2026.

About the Book:

Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and one of our most beloved writers, has inspired generations of readers. But her artistic genius is often overshadowed by her monumental public persona, perhaps because, as Namwali Serpell puts it, “she is our only truly canonical black female writer—and her work is highly complex.” In On Morrison, Serpell brings her unique experience as both an award-winning writer and a professor who teaches a course on Morrison to illuminate her masterful experiments with literary form.

This is Morrison as you’ve never encountered her before, a journey through her oeuvre—her fiction and criticism, as well as her lesser-known dramatic works and poetry—with contextual guidance and original close readings. At once accessible and uncompromisingly rigorous, On Morrison is a primer not only on how to read one of the most significant American authors of all time but also on how to read great works of literature in general. This dialogue on the page between two black women artist-readers is stylish, edifying, and thrilling in its scope and intelligence.

Thank you to Gramercy Books for providing copies of On Morrison for sale at this event.

If you would like to receive an email reminder about this event, please register. Join us in person, or live stream this program on BPL's YouTube channel.

Library Parking & Entrance Information:

While the library's main entrance is under construction, we remain open. Clear signage will guide visitors to a temporary, fully accessible entrance via a ramp in the southeast alley, leading to the dock entrance.

The library parking lot also remains open, with temporary entry and exit available via Euclaire Avenue only. Parking may be limited, so we encourage you to arrive early and use street parking on Euclaire, Mound, and other nearby streets.

For more information about the Outdoor Reading Room project, visit www.BexleyLibrary.org/ORR.

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