Author Eman Quotah and Donna Hemans will discuss their latest books, which both explore questions about complicated relationships, how identity is tied to place, and where we find belonging.
Author Eman Quotah (Bride of the Sea, 2021) and Donna Hemans (Tea by the Sea, 2020) will discuss their latest works, which both consider questions about complicated relationships between mothers and daughters, how identity is tied to place, and where we find belonging. Q&A will follow the discussion.
This program is brought to you in partnership with Gramercy Books.
Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah follows the trajectory of a Saudi Arabian family in Cleveland that fractures into two halves, with harrowing ramifications for its members. It is a spellbinding debut about colliding cultures, immigration, religion, and family; an intimate portrait of loss and healing.
From Brooklyn to the island of Jamaica, Tea by the Sea by Donna Hemans traces a mother’s circuitous route to finding the daughter taken from her at birth. It explores the themes of agency, love, loss, and deftly examines familial identity and personal transformation.
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Eman Quotah is the author of the novel Bride of the Sea. She grew up in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, and Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, The Toast, The Establishment, Book Riot, Literary Hub, Electric Literature and other publications. She lives with her family near Washington, D.C.
Jamaican-born Donna Hemans is the author of the novel River Woman, winner of the 2003-4 Towson University Prize for Literature. Tea by the Sea, for which she won the Lignum Vitae Una Marson Award for Adult Literature, is her second novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Caribbean Writer, Crab Orchard Review, Witness, and the anthology Stories from Blue Latitudes: Caribbean Women Writers at Home and Abroad, among others. She received her undergraduate degree from Fordham University and an MFA from American University. She lives in Maryland, and is also the owner of DC Writers Room, a co-working studio for writers based in Washington, D.C.
Bexley Public Library was founded in 1924 and first housed in Bexley High School, now Montrose Elementary School. The present building opened in 1929 and was designed by architects O.C. Miller and R.R. Reeves who drew upon French and Italian architecture from the 17th century for the design.
The library is located at 2411 East Main Street, at the intersection of East Main Street and Cassady Avenue. Parking is available in our parking lot on Euclaire Avenue and in front of the library on Main Street. Main Street is a No Parking Tow Zone from 4:00-6:00 p.m. weekdays.