Join us on Tuesday, April 5, at 7:00PM for a VIRTUAL author talk! This is part of Goodnow Library Author Series, hosted by Deborah Norkin.

Join authors Bettye Kearse in conversation with Artress White via Zoom. Kearse will discuss her award-winning book, The Other Madisons: The Lost History of A President's Black Family. White will discuss her debut essay collection, Survivor’s Guilt: Essays on Race and American Identity.

About the Author: Bettye Kearse, now retired, practiced pediatrics in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester for thirty years. According to the oral history of her family, she is a descendant of the enslaved cook Coreen and her enslaver, and half-brother, President James Madison. Dr. Kearse is the author of the multiple award-winning book The Other Madisons: The Lost History of A President's Black Family. In recounting the struggles, perseverance, and contributions of eight generations of her family, this intimate memoir illustrates that enslaved Africans possessed hope and inner strength, by which they survived, and talents, by which they contributed mightily to America. Kirkus Reviews describes The Other Madisons as "A Roots for a new generation, rich in storytelling, steeped in history.” Learn more about Kearse HERE.

About the Author: Artress Bethany White is a poet, essayist, and literary critic. She is the recipient of the Trio Award for her poetry collection, My Afmerica (Trio House Press, 2019). Her debut essay collection, Survivor’s Guilt: Essays on Race and American Identity (New Rivers Press, 2020), is currently listed as a Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) social justice read. Her prose and poetry have appeared in such journals as POETRY, Harvard Review, Solstice, Poet Lore, Ecotone, Birmingham Poetry Review, Tupelo Quarterly, Green Mountains Review and Tahoma Review. White has received fellowships and residencies at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, The Writer’s Hotel, and the Tupelo Press/MASS MoCA studios. She is associate professor of English at East Stroudsburg University and teaches poetry and nonfiction workshops for Rosemont College Summer Writer’s Retreat in Pennsylvania. She is also nonfiction editor at the Boston-based literary magazine Pangyrus. Learn more about White HERE.