Author of CRP book will visit campus, Holland

The author of the Community Reading Project will give presentations about her book in Allendale and Holland in April.

"Citizen: An American Lyric" by Claudia Rankine recounts racial aggressions, intentional or not, that occur daily to people of color. Rankine’s book, which melds poetry and prose, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry, and was a finalist for the 2014 National Book Award in Poetry, among other literary honors.

Rankine will give presentations on Wednesday, April 6, at the Herrick District Library, 300 S. River Ave. in Holland, beginning at 7 p.m.; and on Thursday, April 7, at the Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room, beginning at 7 p.m.

Both events are free and open to the public, and both will include book sales and signings.

In her book, Rankine writes about celebrities and ordinary people of color who experienced racial aggressions, like tennis star Serena Williams and the racial slurs she endured from fans and competitors on the circuit, and an unknown woman who switches airplane seats with her daughter because her daughter doesn’t want to sit next to a person of color.

In a review, Publishers Weekly said Rankine’s book “inspires sympathy and outrage, but most of all a will to take a deep look at ourselves and our society.”

Jennifer Jameslyn, CRP interim coordinator, said Rankine's blend of visual art, poetry and critical analysis is a unique experience audiences at her presentations will enjoy.

"The lecture will be an opportunity for Rankine to explore the connections between these different approaches, and the ways each genre brings a new perspective to the issues she’s discussing," Jameslyn said.

For the past 10 years, a committee of Grand Valley faculty and staff members have selected a book for the Community Reading Project. Criteria to select a book include cultural resonance within American culture, connection to the university's values, and wide appeal to students, faculty and staff members in a variety of disciplines. A year's worth of programming is planned leading to the author's visits.

About 80 faculty and staff members are using "Citizen" in their classes or small group discussions. 

The CRP is sponsored by Grand Valley's Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, University Libraries, Herrick District Library and the Grand Rapids Community Foundation in addition to many campus departments. For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/read.