Ta-Nehisi Coates: The Water Dancer
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Ta-Nehisi Coates: The Water Dancer

About the Event:

Just how powerful are our memories? This is the central question of The Water Dancer, the first novel from Ta-Nehisi Coates, well-known for his Atlantic essays, and a National Book Award winner for Between the World and Me. The book follows Hiram Walker, a young enslaved person in Virginia, as he explores the metaphorical and metaphysical boundaries of his world. A remarkable blend of historical fiction and fantasy, evocatively detailed, and constantly thought-provoking, The Water Dancer serves as a profound reminder of Coates’s ongoing proposition: that we must remember and speak of our history in relation to present predicaments. Coates will be joined in conversation by Natalie Moore, South Side bureau reporter at WBEZ.


Ticket purchase includes a copy of The Water Dancer: A Novel.

An option for 1 book + 2 tickets is available through the box office at (312) 605-8444.

Charter Humanists must reserve tickets by September 20th by calling Daniella Mazzio at (312) 777-1569.

This program is generously underwritten by the Literature Humanist Producers.

Become a member to get early access to tickets and support Festival programming like Ta-Nehisi Coates!

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates is an award-winning author and journalist. He is the author of the bestselling books The Beautiful StruggleWe W...

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Natalie Moore

Natalie Moore

Lecturer, Reporter

Natalie Y. Moore is a senior lecturer and director of audio journalism programming.

The Chicago native is known for her reporting o...

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Gabriella Demczuk