Event: A Book Conversation at the CUNY Graduate Center (with Jaïra Placide and Janelle Poe), CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY
Date: Friday, November 3, 2023
Kicks of Choice: Nike Air Max 1 LV8 “Obsidian”
Thoughts captured on November 5, 2023
One of the moments that changed my professional trajectory was when I was appointed to serve as Consortial Faculty in the English Department at the CUNY Graduate Center. When this appointment came through in 2021, I had gotten word that my tenure application had been approved by the college, so it was clear there was a corner I was turning, a much-needed corner! And at this time, I was closing in on a series of final revisions that made “K for the Way” the book that you all get to read now.
After the GC appointment, things started to change. I was the first person in my former department to be appointed as consortial faculty at the GC. The English Department at the GC literally welcomed me with open arms! They were excited to have me, and I was honestly excited to teach a series of graduate courses that directly connected to my research (it was unfortunate that my former department would not let me teach beyond a 200-level course, but that’s a different post for a different day). So when Janelle Poe (a rock star grad student who also lived a life as a DJ) asked me if I’d be willing to do a book talk to celebrate the release of “K for the Way,” I was definitely with it! But I felt like this wasn’t a moment to be alone – so I asked both Janelle Poe and Jaïra Placide (another rock star grad student who’s doing great work) to be in conversation with me about the book. So in typical event fashion, I opened up the event with a DJ set, followed by a brief talk about the book. Immediately after was the best part: this was when Jaïra, Janelle and I were in dialogue about the book. They had a series of great questions ready to go. It allowed me a chance to talk about the book in different and unexpected ways, but it also gave me a chance to really see how grad students were consuming the text. Afterwards, we opened it up to a larger Q and A, and that dialogue was also rich and meaningful. There were faculty and students in attendance – from the GC and other locations – who were excited about “K for the Way” – to put it simple and plain, it gets no better, for real!
Shout out to all my colleagues who came through to the GC! And a shout out to the GC students who were at the ASA Conference, but were in the building in BIPOC spirit – I see y’all!!! And an extra thanks to Radhika and Emma for helping to make sure the tech was on point – that was a FUN moment indeed, lol!
Oh, be clear – we still runnin’…
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