Description
Spend an evening in the company of Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Real Life, Brandon Taylor, as he marks the publication of his highly anticipated new novel, The Late Americans, with a celebration of live performance.
Expect dazzling discussion, dance, and live readings as Brandon explores the themes of sex, love, identity, and politics woven through his new book.
In the shared and private spaces of Iowa City, a social circle of lovers and friends navigate tangled webs of connection as they try to figure out what they want, and who they are. At the centre of the group are three dancers: Ivan, tall and stoic, who is leaving ballet for a career in finance; Fatima, whose work ethic earns her both admiration and enmity; and Noah, who ‘didn’t seek sex out so much as it came up to him like an anxious dog in need of affection.’
As they test their own desires in a series of relationships – and in other, clandestine ways – they are buffeted by other volatile figures in town, from an unruly, vulnerable young poet to a local landlord nursing a lifetime of resentment. Finally, after a series of violent encounters, the group heads to a cabin to bid goodbye to their former lives, and waves of long-buried heartache resolve into moments of unexpected tenderness.
Erudite, intimate, hilarious, poignant, and with the chance to ask Brandon your own questions, don’t miss this unique event exploring youth’s promise, the quest to find one’s tribe and calling, and what it means to be human.
Presented by Fane, with additional elements curated by Dark Matter.
The evening will feature live performances including a poetry reading by Blaize Alexis-Anglin and Demii Lee Walker from Poetic Unity, a Brixton-based charity who use poetry as a tool to support young people’s mental health and community cohesion.