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David Todd Lawrence: Reading & Conversation | Persimmon Creek Residency

On Saturday, June 3, the Persimmon Creek Writers & Artists Residency hosts a free public event with writer, scholar, and May-June 2023 resident David Todd Lawrence.

Starting at 7:00 pm, Lawrence will read from his work at Arrow Rock's Historic Christian Church, located at 711 Main Street. A conversation and Q&A will then follow.

After the Q&A, activities will move to Arrow Rock's Historic Brown's Chapel (710 High Street) for a reception and live entertainment from Kansas City's J Love Band. Brown's Chapel is in easy walking and driving distance of the Christian Church.

The event is FREE and open to the public. Organizers ask that attendees register in advance of the reading via Brown Paper Tickets.

David Todd Lawrence is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the Department of English at the University of St. Thomas. He teaches African American literature and expressive culture, folklore studies, and cultural studies. His writing has appeared in JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLKLORE, JOURNAL OF FOLKLORE RESEARCH, OPEN RIVERS and THE NEW TERRITORY. His book, WHEN THEY BLEW THE LEVEE: RACE, POLITICS AND COMMUNITY IN PINHOOK, MISSOURI (2018, co-authored with Elaine Lawless) is an ethnographic project done in collaboration with residents of the African American town destroyed in the Mississippi River Flood of 2011. The book won the Chicago Folklore Prize in 2019.

Lawrence has strong roots in Missouri, where he attended high school, college, and graduate school. Both of his parents were born in the state, and his fathers family is from the historical Black hamlet of Pennytown.

Press inquiries? Please contact Program Director Nancy Blossom: persimmoncreekresidency@gmail.com. And be sure to follow the Persimmon Creek Writers and Artists Residency on Instagram and Facebook for updates.