In Conversation with the Rosenbach: Robin Black

Local writers Robin Black and Liz Moore discuss the responsibilities, perils, challenges, and importance of making art during politically turbulent times. Is there room for creativity that doesn’t directly address today’s headlines? Is it possible to be a political writer who never writes about politics? Is, as has been claimed, the personal political, so that examinations of such things as family life, of romance, play a crucial social role even in times of strife? Looking at the works of others, at the broader literary debate, and at their own internal processes, these two novelists will explore these issues and more — and will answer any questions you may have.

About the Speaker

Robin Black‘s story collection, If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This, won the Philadelphia Atheneaum Literature Prize, was a finalist for the Frank O’Connor International Story Prize, and was named a Best Book of 2010 by numerous publications including the San Francisco Chronicle and the Irish Times. Her novel, Life Drawing, was long listed for the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, the Impac Dublin Literature Prize, and the Folio Prize. Her latest is Crash Course: Essays From Where Writing And Life Collide. Robin ‘s essays and stories can be found in such publications as The New York Times Book Review, The Chicago Tribune, Southern Review, The Rumpus, O. Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler UK, and many other publications. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, and teaches in the Rutgers-Camden MFA Program.

About the Interviewer

Liz Moore is the author of the novels The Unseen World, The Words of Every Song, and Heft. Her novels have been included on year-end “Best of” lists by The New Yorker, the BBC, Publishers Weekly, Audible, and NPR, and have been published in translation in seven countries. Heft was longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and The Unseen World was an ALA Notable Book of 2017. A winner of Philadelphia’s Athenaeum Literary Award and the 2014 Rome Prize in Literature, Moore is Writer in Residence at the MFA program in Creative Writing at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she lives. For more about Liz and her work, visit www.lizmoore.net.

Join the Conversation

A series of informal, intimate talks given by literary and cultural luminaries, In Conversation with the Rosenbach delves into fascinating histories, intellectual curiosities, and inspiring ideas. Each program offers the audience a chance to join the conversation after the talk and share their own thoughts and questions.

Seating is limited; advance registration is strongly recommended.