Poetry & Spoken Word Meet-up
We’ll write, share, tinker, and (rhyme) scheme.
Friday, October 6, 2023
8:00 PM at Kleinhans Music Hall
WELCOME
Barbara Cole, JBLC Executive & Artistic Director
AUTHOR’S PRESENTATION
Jhumpa Lahiri
CONVERSATION with JHUMPA LAHIRI
Moderated by Barbara Cole
BOOK SIGNING
Kleinhans Lobby
About Tonight’s Featured Artist
JHUMPA LAHIRI, a bilingual writer and translator, is the Millicent C. McIntosh Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Barnard College (Columbia University). She received the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for Interpreter of Maladies, her debut story collection. She is also the author of The Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, and The Lowland, which was a finalist for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award in fiction.
Since 2015, Lahiri has been writing fiction, essays, and poetry in Italian: In Altre Parole (In Other Words), Il Vestito dei libri (The Clothing of Books), Dove mi trovo (self-translated as Whereabouts), Il quaderno di Nerina, and Racconti romani. She has translated three novels by Domenico Starnone and is the editor of The Penguin Classics Book of Italian Short Stories, which was published in Italy as Racconti Italiani. Lahiri received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama in 2014, and in 2019 she was named Commendatore of the Italian Republic by President Sergio Mattarella.
Her most recent book in English is a collection of essays entitled Translating Myself and Others, published in Spring 2022 by Princeton University Press and the forthcoming collection, Roman Stories—available tonight courtesy of Talking Leaves Books.
About BABEL‘s Moderator
BARBARA COLE is the Executive & Artistic Director of Just Buffalo Literary Center.
A 2011 fellow in Poetry from the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Cole received her M.A. in Creative Writing from Temple University in Philadelphia and Ph.D. in English with a specialization in Poetics from the University at Buffalo.
About Just Buffalo Literary Center
Just Buffalo Literary Center’s mission is to create and strengthen communities through the literary arts. And for more than 45 years, we have brought the world’s greatest writers to Buffalo, hosted poetry events and readings, and supported the development of young writers.
We believe in the love of reading, the art of writing, and the power of the literary arts to transform individual lives and communities.
Just Buffalo is a registered 501-c-3 non-profit organization, and your donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Make a Donation Today
Your generous gift to Just Buffalo Literary Center can help write the next chapter! Make a donation online today.
BABEL 2023–2024 Tickets
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Tonight’s BABEL Sponsors
BABEL Presenting Sponsors
With Major Support From
Allan & Melissa Baumgart
Mark Chason & Mariana Botero Chason
Robert J. & Martha B. Fierle Foundation
Library Foundation of Buffalo & Erie County
Elsie P. & Lucius B. McCowan Private Charitable Foundation
Julian R. & Varue W. Oishei Foundation
Corinne Rice & in memory of Victor Rice
Sponsor Organizations
The Official Bookseller of BABEL
Other Contributors & Credits
Sign Language Interpretation Provided By
Joan Blum & Barbara Meyer
Playlist Curated by Govindan Kartha
Flowers by Maureen’s Buffalo Wholesale Flower Market
The Literary Leadership Circle
The Literary Leadership Circle is a distinguished group of supporters who have made a commitment of $5,000 or more over 3 years to support Just Buffalo Literary Center’s work.
A Special Thank You to:
Paul A. Battaglia
Allan & Melissa Baumgart
Dianne Bennett & William Graebner
Sandra Block, M.D. & Patrick Long
Mark Chason & Mariana Botero Chason
Adele & George DeTitta
Kanika & Spencer Durland
Geri Grossman in loving memory of Jimmie Gilliam
Thomas & Sharon Hewner
Lynda G. Kaszubski
John N. Lipsitz & Maria Scrivani
Kevin & Janet O’Leary
Elizabeth Pascal & Family
Corinne Rice & in loving memory of Victor Rice
John Spears
Anne & Dave Taylor
Silo City Reading Series Anthology
ON SALE NOW!
This limited-edition anthology features a poem from each poet who has read in those historic grain silos over the past ten years, including such literary luminaries as Ocean Vuong, Maggie Smith, Jericho Brown, Morgan Parker, Hanif Abdurraqib, Vievee Francis, and a slew of others.
Upcoming Youth Writing Workshops
PRISM: Youth Writing Workshops (Winter & Spring 2025)
PRISM is a monthly creative writing workshop in collaboration with GLYS WNY, Teen Reality Theatre, and Just Buffalo Literary Center. All LGBTQ+ youth and friends are welcome to participate!
JBWC Senior Showcase 2025
Join us at the JBWC Senior Showcase as we celebrate our 2025 graduating Youth Ambassadors who will share their writing & a whole lot of magic. Come be inspired!
Call for Submissions and Launch: The Rustic Review
Submissions for The Rustic Review issue 2 are open! And this year we are offering two $50 Editor’s Choice prizes: one to an artist and one to an author. Everyone who submits is automatically considered for the prize.
BABEL Student Reading Group
BABEL Student Reading Groups invite curious young readers into the living heart of literature. Led by an English teacher with over 30 years of experience and designed specifically for high school readers, this enrichment program draws inspiration from the books featured in the BABEL Author Series.
BABEL Student Reading Group
BABEL Student Reading Groups invite curious young readers into the living heart of literature. Led by an English teacher with over 30 years of experience and designed specifically for high school readers, this enrichment program draws inspiration from the books featured in the BABEL Author Series.
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For over 45 years, Just Buffalo Literary Center has brought the world’s greatest writers to Buffalo, hosted poetry events and readings, and supported the development of young writers.
We believe in the love of reading, the art of writing, and the power of the literary arts to transform individual lives and communities.
Whether you’re a new friend or a familiar face, become a member today & discover just how much is happening at Just Buffalo Literary Center.