After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.
– Oscar Wilde
What to Read
Call a Body Home
by Michael Alessi
Can love for home be joyous and sad simultaneously? The stories in Call a Body Home read like memories, the secrets your mother might share with you at the end of the day after a funeral or a holiday meal, when everybody’s finally gone home and it no longer matters whether anyone knows what happened.
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
by Deesha Philyaw
The title of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies suggests stories of women shouting for the gospel, maybe gossiping about deacon so-and-so with you-would-not-believe-who’s wife (or husband). It’s that and so much more, unveiling through beautiful narrative the social and cultural limitations of the Bible that stifle the romantic lives of God-loving people (if they let it).
What To Watch
CS Lewis: The Most Reluctant Convert
Follow writer CS Lewis as he tells the transformational story of his own conversion from atheism to Christianity in this inspiring biopic drama CS Lewis: The Most Reluctant Convert.
A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration
Part of a new exhibit about the migration of African American families leaving the South is a film by artist Allison Janae Hamilton based on the short story “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortez. (Now through January 29, 2023)
Where To Go
Philly Zine Fest 2022
Returning live and in person at Mitten Hall at Temple University is one of the oldest indie zine festivals that has been around since 2002: Philly Zine Fest. (November 5)
National Association of Black Storytellers Festival
Open to everyone, the 40th annual NABS festival features artists of the oral storytelling tradition who specialize in sharing tales, both ancient and contemporary, both real and fictionalized, from places throughout the African diaspora. (November 9-13)
Texas Book Festival
Meet with the likes of Janet Evanovich, Jacques Pepin, local Texan authors, and more at this year’s Texas Book Festival in downtown Austin. (November 4-6)
What To Listen For
Star Trek: The Short Story Collection
This time William Shatner, the man best known for his skills negotiating travel deals online and playing the iconic role of Captain Kirk in Star Trek, sets off for space. For real. He tells it all in this interview with National Public Radio. Oh, and check out this collection of Star Trek short stories from Star Trek Magazine.
