In their most recent essay collections, National Book Award honorees Hanif Abdurraqib (There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, 2024 Nonfiction Longlister) and Vanessa Angélica Villarreal (Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy, and Borders, 2024 Nonfiction Longlister) write about the people, places, and things that they love and, sometimes, that disappoint them—from basketball to Beyoncé. Join the authors for readings and conversation on the relationship between pop culture and contemporary literature.

Moderated by Richard Purcell, researcher, writer, and Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi.

Presented in partnership with Coahoma Community College and the Coahoma County Higher Education Center.

Register here.