Virtual Community Book Club with President Barack Obama
RSVP to watch for free Wednesday 04.21.21 7pm
About: Former President Barack Obama in conversation with filmmaker Ava DuVernay
President Barack Obama joins the Los Angeles Times Community Book Club to discuss A PROMISED LAND in a conversation with filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
In his critically acclaimed and bestselling memoir, President Obama takes readers inside his improbable journey: from his political awakening as a freshman at Occidental College, to finding his way as a community organizer and young senator from Chicago, to the day-to-day grind of his grassroots campaign to become the nation’s first Black president.
Times White House reporter Eli Stokols called A PROMISED LAND a fast-moving narrative that “puts the reader in the room at defining moments.”
“Obama draws a textured portrait of himself as a rookie executive — seeking counsel from aides, sneaking cigarettes on the Truman Balcony, frustrated by the constraints on his ambitious agenda but undaunted in pursuing it, even at a steep political cost,” Stokols writes in his review.
A PROMISED LAND covers the first two and half years of Obama’s presidency and is the first of two volumes.
Where: This free virtual community book club event will be live streaming on the Los Angeles Times Facebook page, YouTube and Twitter. You will receive the platform links via email on the day of the event.
RSVP to watch for free Wednesday 04.21.21 7pm
About: Former President Barack Obama in conversation with filmmaker Ava DuVernay
President Barack Obama joins the Los Angeles Times Community Book Club to discuss A PROMISED LAND in a conversation with filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
In his critically acclaimed and bestselling memoir, President Obama takes readers inside his improbable journey: from his political awakening as a freshman at Occidental College, to finding his way as a community organizer and young senator from Chicago, to the day-to-day grind of his grassroots campaign to become the nation’s first Black president.
Times White House reporter Eli Stokols called A PROMISED LAND a fast-moving narrative that “puts the reader in the room at defining moments.”
“Obama draws a textured portrait of himself as a rookie executive — seeking counsel from aides, sneaking cigarettes on the Truman Balcony, frustrated by the constraints on his ambitious agenda but undaunted in pursuing it, even at a steep political cost,” Stokols writes in his review.
A PROMISED LAND covers the first two and half years of Obama’s presidency and is the first of two volumes.
Where: This free virtual community book club event will be live streaming on the Los Angeles Times Facebook page, YouTube and Twitter. You will receive the platform links via email on the day of the event.
Click below to purchase the book.
Virtual Poetry Stage
Ongoing throughout the festival
See the videos
Participants: Yusef Komunyakaa | Sesshu Foster | William Archila | Yesika Salgado | Victoria Chang | Anthony Cody | Honorée Fanonne Jeffers | Ellen Bass | Cortney Lamar Charleston | Megan Dorame | Martin Espada | Jenise Miller | Martha Ronk | Michael Wasson | Gail Wronsky | and more!
Ongoing throughout the festival
See the videos
Participants: Yusef Komunyakaa | Sesshu Foster | William Archila | Yesika Salgado | Victoria Chang | Anthony Cody | Honorée Fanonne Jeffers | Ellen Bass | Cortney Lamar Charleston | Megan Dorame | Martin Espada | Jenise Miller | Martha Ronk | Michael Wasson | Gail Wronsky | and more!
Crime Fiction: Secrets and Suspense
Monday 04.19.21 7pm
Moderator: Paula L. Woods
Panelists: Christopher Bollen | Tod Goldberg | Jennifer Hillier
Monday 04.19.21 7pm
Moderator: Paula L. Woods
Panelists: Christopher Bollen | Tod Goldberg | Jennifer Hillier
CHRISTOPHER BOLLEN
TOD GOLDBERG
Native American Literature: A Panel Honoring the Legacy of Leslie Marmon Silko, 2020 Robert Kirsch Award Winner
Tuesday 04.20.21 5pm
Moderator: Rigoberto González
Panelists: Danielle Geller | Brandon Hobson | David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Tuesday 04.20.21 5pm
Moderator: Rigoberto González
Panelists: Danielle Geller | Brandon Hobson | David Heska Wanbli Weiden
DANIELLE GELLER
BRANDON HOBSON
DAVID HESKA WANBLI WEIDEN
Speculative Fiction: The Real and Unreal, Presented by the Ray Bradbury Foundation
Tuesday 04.20.21 7pm
Moderator: Kelly Link
Panelists: Amal El-Mohtar | Max Gladstone | Megan Giddings | Stephen Graham Jones
Tuesday 04.20.21 7pm
Moderator: Kelly Link
Panelists: Amal El-Mohtar | Max Gladstone | Megan Giddings | Stephen Graham Jones
AMAL EL-MOHTAR
MAX GLADSTONE
MEGAN GIDDINGS
STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES