(Online Event)
DATE: 9th Sept, 2022
TIME: 21:00 (Amsterdam & Paris) / 20:00 (London & Lagos) / 15:00 (New York & Nassau)
Admission Free
The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You
Writers Flock presents a virtual event celebrating the work of Maurice Carlos Ruffin, New Orleans native and author of The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories and We Cast a Shadow, both selected as a New York Times Editor’s Choice. Join Strange Birds host Jules Chung in an hour-long conversation and readings with Maurice, followed by an audience Q&A.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ERNEST J. GAINES AWARD – LONGLISTED FOR THE STORY PRIZE – ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR–Garden & Gun, Electric Lit – “Every sentence is both something that makes you want to laugh in a gut-wrenching way and threatens to break your heart in a way that you did not anticipate.”–Robert Jones, Jr., author of The Prophets, in The Wall Street Journal
There’s the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans we saw on TV and then there’s Maurice’s NOLA. In his collection, Maurice shines a light on overlooked, the understated, the heartbreaking and the everyday. In “Beg Borrow Steal,” a boy relishes time spent helping his father find work after coming home from prison; in “Ghetto University,” a couple struggling financially turns to crime after hitting rock bottom; in “Before I Let Go,” a woman who’s been in NOLA for generations fights to keep her home; in “Fast Hands, Fast Feet,” an army vet and a runaway teen find companionship while sleeping under a bridge; and in the title story, a young man works the street corners of the French Quarter, trying to achieve a freedom not meant for him.
“Stunning and audacious…at once a pitch-black comedy, a chilling horror story and an endlessly perceptive novel about the possible future of race in America.” (NPR)
In We Cast A Shadow, Maurice pens a satire of surviving racism in America and a profoundly moving family story. “You can be beautiful, even more beautiful than before.” This is the seductive promise of Dr. Nzinga’s clinic, where anyone can get their lips thinned, their skin bleached, and their nose narrowed. A complete demelanization will liberate you from the confines of being born in a Black body – if you can afford it. At the center of the novel, a father who just wants his son to thrive in a broken world.
A professor of Creative Writing at Louisiana State University, and creator of the popular Substack newsletter Sitting in Silence, Maurice is a master of language and the craft of writing. A not to be missed event.
This event will take place online via Zoom. Register your interest via the button link below and you will be provided with links to join all Writers Flock online events at least one hour before each event starts. This event will be recorded. Places are limited.