Julian Randall | The Dead Don’t Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Sh*t

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In conversation with Kirwyn Sutherland

Julian Randall is the author of the poetry collection Refuse, winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize and a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. He was a contributor to the no. 1 New York Times bestseller Black Boy Joy and his middle-grade novels, Pilar Ramirez and the Escape From Zafa and its sequel Pilar Ramirez and the Curse of San Zenon, were published to popular acclaim in 2022 and 2024. His other poetry and essays have appeared in The Atlantic, Vibe, and Ploughshares, among other publications. The recipient of fellowships from Cave Canem and Tin House, Randall has been honored with the Frederick Bock Prize and a Pushcart Prize. The Dead Don’t Need Reminding explores the complexities of family, grief, pop culture, and American life through the fraught true story of Randall's return from the abyss-edge of depression and his quest to retrace the steps of his white-passing grandfather’s flight from a dangerous Mississippi town.

A Clinical Research Professional and poet, Kirwyn Sutherland has contributed work to American Poetry Review, Cosmonauts Ave., Blueshift Journal, and The Wanderer, among other publications. He is also the author of the chapbook Jump Ship, is a Watering Hole fellow, served as poetry editor for APIARY Magazine, and has attended workshops and residencies at Cave Canem, Poets House, and the Pearlstein Art Gallery at Drexel University.

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Books will be available for purchase at the library on event night.
A book signing will follow the presentation.
Books provided by Uncle Bobbie's Coffee and Books